Galaxy Angel Variance: Shadowborne Love
by Guardian Hawk
Summary: Six months have past since the coup d'etat that Eonia led against the crown. Now, as The Angel wing and The Demon of the West begin to enjoy the peace, a new foe comes from the shadows. Who is she? What does she want? And more importantly, how does she tie into the origins of the Demon of the West?
1. Chapter 1: Back in the Saddle

_**Galaxy Angel Variance: Shadowborn Love**_

 _ **Chapter 1: Back in the Saddle**_

It's been 6 months since Milfeulle and I parted ways at the spaceport.

As I'm sure you remember; my name is Howard, more commonly known as the Demon of the West. I'm a 400 year old demon that acts as the personal guardian of the royal family, and I also went from one of the most feared legends across the empire to one of its most respected heroes practically overnight. How? Well, in my previous tale, I spoke of a civil war between family members. Eonia against Shiva, and the white moon against black moon. All of which tore the Empire asunder for a short time. My role in the events was small compared to those of the Moon Angel troupe of the White moon and the Elsior. Granted, everyone would tell you differently, but I merely did what I promised to do over 120 years ago when the royal family first brought me into the fold. Keep them safe.

I spent the first three months thinking about her every single day, hoping she didn't run into any trouble. So, of course, when I received a letter from her inviting me to come visit her, I was beyond ecstatic. Empress Shiva approved of me taking my leave to go see her whenever I wanted, but I still made sure to have arrangements made to keep her safe. I do still have a job after all.

That first visit was definitely one to remember. The apartment that Milfeulle settled in was a quaint little spot. Within view of the beach, it was on the 11th floor of a popular apartment complex. A bit small for my tastes, but at the same time, I did spend 250 years in a home of my own design, so of course I was a bit biased. Nevertheless though, it was a perfect reflection of her. I couldn't help but feel like a puppy seeing someone new for the first time when I finally saw her. I ran over to her and hugged her tightly before I started playfully poking her and tickling her, causing her to giggle and squirm away. After chasing her around her apartment and playing with her for a few minutes, we sat down on her sofa and spent the next few hours catching up on everything we'd missed with each other.

With her, she worked for a bakery now, which was fitting since she was amazingly talented as a cook. She told me how she couldn't quite find the right place at first, but then stumbled across an ad on an advertisement board showing apartments for rent on the beach. She was telling me that it was completely random, but I knew better. I am completely convinced that her luck didn't actually leave her, it was more along the lines of just exhausted for the time being. Though, I had an uncanny intuition to back that up, I didn't really have much else in terms of proof to demonstrate otherwise. Apart from that, she'd been living a relatively quiet life and that she missed me and thought of me every day to this point.

As for me, well, I was still the personal guardian of her majesty, Empress Shiva. I spent a lot of time doing digging. Not literally, mind you, but figuratively. It bothered me how I have no memory of my childhood, or my parents, or anything before I woke up on Transbaal. However, the more I dug, the more confusing it got. There were a few records of me before the Empire was formed. Granted, I expected as much, but I was still hoping to find something tangible. I found the old business license I applied for to open my combat training school, as well as a few old documents, like my pilot's license, as well as my certification to train. Apart from that though, nothing. No birth records, no declaration of heritage, nothing. It was almost as if I just suddenly popped up one day.

Fast forward three months to now, I was on my tri-weekly visit when I told Milfeulle about it, she seemed worried. Not so much at the fact that I couldn't find anything, but she could see that it bothered me. Before I knew it, I was wrapped in her arms and her head was resting against mine, making me smile. As she hugged me, she said, "Don't worry Howard. I'm positive that you'll find out your roots. There aren't many 400 year old demons running around, so it can't be too hard to find someone related to you."

I couldn't help but laugh as I said, "Sweetheart, you have NO idea how wrong that statement is. Every time I try looking for something about my past, I only come across something from after I established a life here. Never before, it's really weird. It's almost as if my history, my life before my 28th birthday had been wiped clean from history. It makes no sense. But, I digress, that's not why I'm here."

I looked into her eyes and poked her nose before I said, "I came here to see you. I have been thinking about you every single day for the last six months and I wanted to see what you were up too. Not to mention see if you'd be able to go out on a date with me so we can spend some quality time together again."

She perked up as I said that and replied, "Actually, there's this amusement park I've wanted to go to for a while now…" I couldn't help but smile as she said this. She always did enjoy life's little treasures. From amusement parks to something as simple as a picnic, Milfeulle Sakuraba has not changed one bit in the months that have passed. So, of course, I'd be happy to indulge her.

"The one they just built on the orbital station not too long ago? I believe it was called Galactic Land."

She smiled and said, "That's the one! Their space ferris wheel looks amazing! Are you available tomorrow?"

I chuckled and said, "I escorted her majesty there a couple of months ago. She certainly enjoyed the park. I have no doubt that you'll enjoy it just as much. As luck would have it, I am available. Consider it a date then."

She giggled a bit as she said, "I'll make sure to prepare a lunch, so please look forward to it." I smirked before I replied, "Alright, but no specials. I haven't forgotten about the Ranpha Special and I am not about to relive that nightmare." I shuddered a bit, making her giggle.

Before she could say anything, a coo-coo clock chimed and whistled out, making her jump up as she said, "Ah, I'm late! I've got to get to work." That was our cue that our visit was over. I wished it was longer, but beggars can't be choosers.

I stood up, straightening my armor a bit as I said, "Well, I won't take up any more of your time. If your supervisor gives you any grief…" I took a pad on the counter and wrote a note, excusing Milfeulle for being late to work and signed it as I finished, "…give this to your boss. I'm sure they'll overlook it this time." I threw her a wink as she took the slip from me and blushed a bit as I said, "Have a good day my angel of luck, and I'll see you tomorrow for our date." I hugged her and kissed the top of her head before I departed and returned to the rebuilt imperial palace.

I found it a slight bit difficult to concentrate from the excitement I was feeling. It was definitely a nice change compared to what I've dealt with over the last few centuries. But, I didn't let it interfere with my duties to Empress Shiva. Of course, I kept her apprised of my relationship with Milfeulle since; after all, she was the one who encouraged it. She was happy to see me in high spirits and would keep telling me, more often than I care to admit, that she told me so. I could only smirk since I didn't have any real rebuttal to that.

Regardless, after I told her about the date, she offered to have the park closed off and reserved for just the two of us. While that was incredibly sweet of her, I couldn't do that for a few reasons. The two biggest ones being it would be awkward to walk around an empty amusement park and other people should be allowed to enjoy the park just as much as we can. Granted, it took me a couple of hours of arguing with her to convince her not to do that, but in the end, I got through to her. She never really could beat me in an argument when it came down to it, though I was nice and let her win every now and again.

So, the next day came round and I picked Milfeulle up from her apartment and we made our way to Galactic Land. I'd only been here once, and I had to wear earplugs because of how overpowering all the noise was. Granted, people were more in an uproar between my presence there on top of the Empress' presence as well. So, things should be a little quieter this time around.

"Hey, isn't that the Demon of the West?"

"I thought he was the personal guardian of her majesty, is she here?"

"Do you think all that armor makes it hard for him to ride some of the rides here?"

Then again, I have been wrong before.

I couldn't help but shake my head at some of the conversations I couldn't help but overhear. One of the downsides of being a Dog Demon, you have a much sharper sense of hearing compared to a human. So, whether I liked it or not, I had to deal with it. Milfeulle, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. She definitely wasn't shy about clinging onto my arm and pointing things out to me she wanted to try.

Over the course of the day, we played a few of the boardwalk games. I had to actually put effort into messing a lot of them up so as not to win outright, like the milk bottle game. Do you have any clue how hard it is to NOT knock all six bottles off in a throw when you have the strength to lift vehicles off the ground with no effort? Let me tell you, that made me almost wish to fight the hell hounds in open space again. After we made our way through the boardwalk, we decided to just walk around and talk for a bit. She was the first to strike up conversation.

"The weather's nice, isn't it Howard?"

I chuckled as I said, "We are on a space station, so I would hope it's nice. People would probably complain otherwise."

She giggled as she replied, "Ah, I guess it is, he he he."

I put an arm over her shoulder as I said, "I'm just happy I finally got you back."

She looked at me with a small blush before saying, "So where should be go next? There's a merry-go-round, a roller coaster, and a haunted house. I can't decide…"

I smiled, seeing her so happy brought warmth into my heart as I listened to her. Of course, I was terrible at making these kinds of decisions, so I just looked up and said the first thing that I saw, which was…

"Let's ride the merry-go-round." What am I thinking? With all this armor I'm wearing, I don't know if ANY of those seats will support my weight. I didn't really ride any rides the last time I came here, I mostly stood by her highness as she rode the rides and enjoyed watching her. So, we made our way over to the carousel and as we walked onto the platform, she blurted out.

"Ah, Howard! Let's ride the pumpkin carriage!" The color almost drained out of my face when I heard her say that. I had NO clue if the carriage would hold my weight. It was big enough, sure, but I do weigh a bit more with all this armor on. I probably should have thought about that before I came to this park. But, at the same time, I've had this nagging at the back of my head telling me that something was going to happen and soon, so I decided to just carry my armor with me just to be safe. While the odds of something happening were slim, my intuition hasn't failed me yet.

We walked over to the pumpkin carriage, which had two white horses in front of it and a very spacious amount of seating room as I looked at her and said, "You were lured by the white horses, weren't you?" I smiled as she said, "Well, that, and I figured it would be the safest one that could hold your weight without breaking."

She ACTUALLY thought about that?

My jaw dropped when she said that before she said, "Careful there, my cute demon." She playfully placed a hand under my chin and closed my mouth as she said, "Someone might slip on your drool." I shook my head as she stepped inside of the carriage. I heard a couple of chuckles behind me from people that prompted me to throw them a glare, quickly silencing them before I stepped into the carriage and sat down as the carousel began to turn.

Milfeulle giggled as she slipped under my arm and leaned against me before saying, "It feels like we're a prince and princess going to a ball." I raised an eyebrow as I said, "I'd make a terrible prince. I'm much better at being a demon, a lot less politics and worry about being politically correct about things. Though, I could totally imagine you as a princess. You already have the beauty of one, so it wouldn't take much to make that a reality." She smiled and answered, "Even if you think you make a terrible prince, you're an amazing prince to me, Howard."

After we got off of the carousel, we walked a bit as she said, "That was fun, wasn't it Howard?" I chuckled and said, "Yes it was. Definitely much better than most of the rides I usually take. Ha ha." I looked around as I wondered what we should do next. Almost as if reading my mind, she said, "Let's ride the roller coaster next!" I looked over at the roller coaster and immediately felt a bit apprehensive. Granted, she was dragging me over to the line, so too late to back out now.

As we approached the car, she jumped and said, "Howard! The front seat is empty! Let's sit there!" I looked at some of the drops, which were REALLY high up and wondered if sitting in the front seat was a good idea. Of course, before I knew what was happening, there I was strapped into the front seat next to Milfeulle beginning to roll off as she said, "Ah, we're leaving. Lift off!"

Next thing I know, we suddenly accelerate forward, causing me to reactively grab the bar in front of me as I said, "Whoa! This is going really fast for the beginning of the ride." Milfeulle was quick to reply, "This roller coaster is the most intense one in all of space!" As we reached the top of what looked like a vertical drop that was easily three to four hundred feet up, I could only say one thing:

"HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT!"

"Ahaha! This is fun!"

"This is hell! You're going to be the death of me woma-AAAHH!"

"Heheheehe! Weeeeeee!"

Oh right, she used to be a pilot. This is nothing to her. Probably should have thought about that earlier.

"How did I let you talk me into this!? HOW!?"

I'm sure I can outrun this roller coaster with my demonic speed, but the G-force being stressed on me is something I haven't had to deal with very much over the centuries, so, you could say this is an eye-opening experience for me.

Once the car returned to the station and came to a complete stop, I quickly pulled the bar up and leapt out of the car. The attendant just gave me a weird look as I said, "Milfeulle, I love you, I really do, you suck!" As soon as I landed, my legs were wobbly from the adrenaline rush that I ensured and gave out, causing me to drop to my knees. The attendants quickly ran over to me and tried to grab me, which I quickly shook them off and said, "Hands off! I'll be fine. Whew, damn….talk about a rush." It took me a few seconds to get my bearings again, but once I stood back up, Milfeulle had a slightly worried look on her face. I started laughing as I walked over to her and said, "I'm not mad at you sweetheart, I was only joking. Though…..you are going to have to give me a pretty good reason to every consider getting onto that thing ever again."

She perked right back up as she smiled and said, "Awww, my dear demon, were you scared?"

I scoffed and said, "Me? Scared? Hah! I've fought armies way worse than that thing!"

Yes…..yes I was. I have learned today that I hate roller coasters.

As we walked through the park, she pointed at the ferris wheel and said, "There's the space ferris wheel I was telling you about. Wow, it's so big that I can't even see the top." I looked at it and it definitely was really high up there. Her majesty didn't go on the ferris wheel when we were here, so this would be the first time I've ridden it myself.

"Alright then, what are we waiting for?"

I grabbed her hand and we made our way over to the ferris wheel. We managed to get a car by ourselves and we rode the wheel to the top at a nice and slow pace. Definitely much more enjoyable than that screaming metal death trap we just rode a minute ago.

"Wow. Look Howard! What a view!"

I smiled as I said, "Last time I had a view like this, I jumped out of a space shuttle as we were escaping Fargo station. Though, I have to say, this is much more relaxing than that situation was." I laughed a bit as she pulled out a small basket and said, "The announcement said it would take about half an hour to go all the way around, so now is the perfect time for lunch." I smiled a bit as I sat forward and said, "The perfect thing to top off this amazing date…minus the roller coaster." She giggled as she opened up the basket, revealing a load of food all packed in. I was immediately blasted with several different smells coming from the small container as I said, "Whoa! How did you manage to fit all of that food into that little thing? I can smell at least six different foods in there!" She simply picked up a fork, stabbed a french fry and said, "That's a secret. So, French fries first. Here, say ahh."

I opened my mouth and took the French fry into my mouth, to which I was met with a mesmerizing taste. She definitely has not lost her touch with cooking, that's for sure.

"How does it taste?

I smiled and said, "It's delicious. You haven't lost a step my dear angel."

She sighed a bit as she said, "Thank goodness. I've made a lot. Please keep eating."

I leered at her and said, "I see what you're doing here. You're trying to turn me into one of those fat house dogs, aren't you?"

She put on a look of feigned innocence as she said, "Who me? I would never do such a thing to the legendary Demon of the West. Plus, I don't think the Empress would forgive me if I did. He he he."

We continued to eat over the next 15 minutes until everything was devoured. That was one of the most satisfying lunches I've had in a long time, I can't believe how much I've missed her cooking.

I sighed as I said, "Wow, now that was absolutely amazing Milfeulle. I haven't had a meal that satisfying in a long time. You are still an amazing chef."

She giggled as she said, "Thank you! I'm really glad you liked it. It makes getting up early to make it worthwhile."

As the ferris wheel came full circle, we stepped off, holding each other's hands as she smiled and said, "That was really fun. Where should we go now?"

Before I could answer her question, I noticed a light out of the corner of my eye. It caused me to turn my head and look. I could feel the power begin to pulsate through my body as Milfeulle looked at me with a worried look and said, "Howard, what's wrong?"

"I don't know why, but I'm getting a bad feeling right now. Could have sworn I saw something a second ago that I shouldn't have."

"What? Where?"

No sooner did she finish her sentence, the station was hit with an energy blast, causing the station to shake and knocked several people off their feet. I quickly leapt forward and grabbed Milfeulle before asking if she was alright. She replied, "I'm fine, but that sounded like an explosion…"

Within moments, another explosion rattled the station, knocking more people down, and tightening my grip around Milfeulle's waist as I looked around, trying to locate the source of the explosions. Who would attack an amusement park? Seriously, that's low beyond anyone's standards.

"Attention! All attendees please evacuate to the nearest escape shuttle hanger immediately, this is not a drill…"

As we heard the announcement, I knelt down and said, "Get on my back, I'll get us out of here." She nodded and wrapped her arms around my neck, leaning into my fur pelt on my back. I grabbed her legs and leapt into the air over the crowds that were scrambling to get out of the park. Using my demonic speed, I managed to blow past everyone and carry us to the hanger that we arrived in.

Upon approaching the hanger, several people were screaming in fear. Milfeulle climbed off of my back as I said, "Everyone, please calm down, get on the shuttle and to safety."

One of the people replied, "We can't, the shuttle pilot is gone."

Milfeulle looked at me with worry before I said, "Get on, I'll fly the damn thing. Well sweetheart, looks like our vacation is officially over. Milfeulle, make sure everyone gets on board."

She looked at me in shock before saying, "Me!?"

I looked at her with a smile and said, "Keep everyone from panicking. Just calm down and help them evacuate, ok?"

Her expression dipped as she said, "Y-yes, but can I do it?"

I walked up to her, placed my forehead against hers and said, "I have every confidence in you my beloved angel. You can do it. Everything will be ok."

She leaned against me before saying, "I understand. I'll do my absolute best!"

After a few minutes of people flooding on board and prepping the engines to launch, a voice came over the comm system.

"Hey! Why hasn't shuttle 7 taken off!? Don't lag behind! I'll guide you. Hurry up and launch the shuttle. The station's going down."

I know that voice.

Before I could respond, Milfeulle came into the pilot's cabin and said, "Everybody's on board. Let's go Howard!" I nodded and proceeded to launch the shuttle from the falling station. I pushed the engines to bring us up to speed to head to the rendezvous point that had been transmitted a few minutes ago. I looked to Milfeulle and said, "We'll arrive in a few minutes. Milfeulle, can you see anything? I've got my hands full trying to keep the engines from overheating."

She shook her head as she looked out and said, "No…..nothing…"

Then she suddenly jumped and said, "Ah! There! Howard! Look over there!"

I looked up and what I saw damn near made my jaw hit the floor.

The Elsior

What in the hell was THAT ship doing here?

Milfeulle was jumping up and down behind me as she said, "The signal is pointing us there. We're going to land on the Elsior, Howard!" There were a thousand questions going through my mind at that point. The one at the forefront of my mind, however…

What was she doing here when she was supposed to be on the frontier?

As we set the shuttle down in the hanger bay, I noticed the work crews hustling around performing their duties. I recognized a lot of them, but there were a few new faces mixed in the lot. I opened the doors on the side of the shuttle and Milfeulle and I were the first to step out as everyone started to peek out into the hanger to see if it was safe.

Milfeulle was beside herself as she said, "Ahhh! I really missed this place. It's exactly the same as before." I smiled as she took a walk down memory lane. However, that was cut short quite quickly.

"Hold on, you over there! Stay in line!"

I turned to the source of the voice with a glare as I said, "What did you say to me?"

He looked at me and the color drained out of his face instantly as he realized who I was.

"M—my lord! Please excuse me!"

I proceeded to walk past him and said, "Take care of those civilians on that shuttle; I need to have a chat with the commander on the bridge. Come along Milfeulle, I'm sure there are a few people that would love to see you again."

She nodded and we made our way to the bridge. The interior of the Elsior hasn't changed a bit since the last time we were here. Making our way through the halls, we passed several crew members who instantly recognized us and bid us a welcome back. Others, who were knew, we aware of me and greeted me with the fear that most of them used to exhibit when I first came aboard. I didn't think much on it since I probably wouldn't be here very long.

As we arrived on the bridge, everyone turned to look at us in shock at our presence.

"My lord!"

"I don't believe it! The Demon of the West is back?"

"And Milfie is here too!?"

Milfeulle waved happily as she said, "It's good to see everyone again!"

Lester quickly shook his shock off as he said, "What are you two doing here?"

I chuckled a bit as I said, "Well, Mr. Coolduras, we were actually on a date to Galactic Land when someone started bombing it. That said, what are YOU doing here? As I recall, you were under orders to head out to the frontier to handle a raider fleet that had been harassing the outer planets of the empire."

Tact stepped forward as he said, "Yeah, about that, it'd be easier to show you than explain the whole situation. Coco, if you would please…"

Coco rogered up and brought up a digital display showing a fleet of a dozen warships as I raised an eyebrow and said, "You have got to be kidding me. You chased them all the way out here? Man, you're getting sloppy Tact."

He quickly began waving his hands as he said, "Hold on, it's not my fault they're here. Every time we get a report of them attacking a system, they're long gone by the time we get there. This is the first time we've finally caught up to them."

Lester crossed his arms and said, "Truthfully, I was worried we'd be too late again."

Before I could reply, Coco yelled out, "Incoming enemy missiles! We can't evade, brace for impact."

As Milfeulle yelped and grabbed the bulkhead I took a step forward, channeling my power in my arm and shot it into the ceiling, erecting a barrier around the Elsior. Over the course of the last six months, I became extremely proficient with my newfound abilities. Mainly at Shiva's behest, I spent a lot of time running bombardment drills with warships, erecting barriers for them to pummel and allowing me to get more practice with using it. I also discovered a neat little trick I can do at the same time as holding a barrier.

I can shoot bursts of energy towards a target of my choosing.

It's a bit more draining, but I discovered that by accident when one of the artillery units were not letting up and I was getting irritated with how long it was taking. Before I knew what happened, I shot a bolt from my hand out through the barrier and almost wiped out the battalion. Safe to say they are hesitant to run any more drills with me. However, it is going to be extremely handy in this case.

As the missiles collided with my barrier, I charged up a bolt and shot it out through the link I created into the hull of the Elsior. I watched the bolt shoot out from the ship, fly through space and hit one of the destroyers, causing it to be knocked back before exploding into pieces.

Everyone looked at me in shock as Tact said, "That's new! Since when can you shoot energy bolts while holding a barrier?" Even Milfeulle was looking at me in surprise before I said, "What? It was a new trick I learned and I wanted to use it. No time like the present, right?"

Milfeulle giggled as I dropped the barrier and asked, "Soooooo, where is the angel wing?" No sooner did I ask this, a digital display popped up, showing Forte flying her frame as she said, "Elsior, this is Happy Trigger, where did that energy barrier come fr….Howard!?"

I couldn't help but chuckle as I dropped the barrier and said, "Surprise!" I looked back at Milfeulle and said, "Well, come on sweetheart, say hi." Milfeulle jumped forward and said, "Hi Forte! How have you been?" I swear, if Forte could have leapt out of her seat, she probably would have after seeing Milfeulle. "What are you two doing there!?"

I looked at Milfeulle with a smirk before I said, "Well, it's a really long story, so, to sum it up, right place, right time." Forte looked at us before she said, "A long story huh…well, you can fill me in later, right now, we have to…"

I cut her off, "…Protect the evacuees, yeah, I gathered as much. Tact, how much longer until the station is fully evacuated?" Tact looked at Almo, who then said, "First gate is 50% complete. The remaining shuttles need twenty more minutes to complete their evacuation." I shook my head lightly as I looked back at Forte as she said, "There's a stray approaching the Elsior. It's your turn."

"Roger, Ms. Forte."

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at Tact and he simply smiled before the warship Forte mentioned was hit directly in the engine compartment, causing it to explode. Coco shouted, "Direct hit to the enemy reactor. Target destroyed."

Lester smiled as he said, "As skilled as ever to be able to snipe the enemy's reactor."

I looked at him and said, "Damn good shot. Who the hell was that?"

He calmly replied, "That would be the other emblem frame. Almo, bring it up on screen."

She acknowledged the order and brought up another digital display. The image displayed was definitely an emblem frame, but one I'd never seen before. Milfeulle spoke up behind me, "That's…an emblem frame, right? But, I've never seen it before."

Next thing we know, we receive a hail from the frame.

"This is the Sharp Shooter. Ensign Karasuma Chitose. Elsior, please respond."

I looked at Lester, knowing what I was about to ask as he said, "Karasuma Chitose. She was newly assigned to the Angel Wing one week ago."

A week? She's been on the Angel wing for one week and she shoots like THAT?!

I look back at Milfeulle and said, "Newly assigned?"

The next thing I knew, a digital display replaced the frame with the picture of a girl. The girl pictured in it appeared to be about 17 years of age. She had a fair complexion, green eyes, and wore the traditional uniform with full body coat. She also had a red ribbon tied in a bow in her dark blue hair. Whoever this mystery pilot was, screamed military protocol, which was odd, given the mix that comprised the angel troupe before now.

"We have not met, my lord. I understand the situation from your communication with Ms. Forte." Yup, this is going to be a pain to deal with.

"Nice to meet you too. Ensign Karasuma, was it?" was all I could get out. I don't know why, but hearing her voice made my skin crawl. Karasuma…where have I heard that name before.

Before that train of thought could go any further, she replied, "Yes, my name is Karasuma Chitose."

I smirked a bit as I said, "You've been assigned to one of her majesties best units, Ensign. I expect you to maintain the level of skill required to fly with these girls, am I clear?" Lester and Tact both looked at me, they could clearly tell I was screwing with her, but I figured, I may as well ease her into life with the Angel wing since she is new.

She confidently responded, "Yes. I will do my best to live up to your expectations, my lord."

I raised a hand and said, "Please, call me Demon for the time being. Once you've earned my respect, I'll allow you to use my name. In the meantime though, you're going to go through the same paces the rest of the girls did. So, with that said, first order of business…"

Forte chimed in and said, "That's the Demon I remember, awaiting orders."

Milfeulle tugged on my sleeve a bit, prompting me to look at her as she said, "Um…Should I sortie too?" Forte looked past me and said, "Nah, this isn't the kind of enemy we need you for. Feel free to sit back and enjoy the show while we handle these losers."

She smiled, nodded and said, "I understand. Do your best Forte!"

As Tact began to converse with Chitose, I looked back at Milfeulle, who looked uncomfortable and said, "Hey, don't feel like you're not needed. She was praising your skill. The fact that they don't need you means that they'd rather save you for a much tougher enemy." She looked up at me with a smile and said, "I don't feel bad. Though, thank you for the nice gesture. I just miss flying the Lucky Star." I smiled as I moved beside her and placed my arm across her back, causing her to smile and lean onto me while grabbing and holding onto that hand.

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.

I stepped forward away from Milfeulle and looked at the battle map. The shuttles were on the far side of the station and the frames would only be able to reach half of the fleet at any one point with how far apart they were. So, that gave me an idea.

"Tact, you mind if I propose an idea of my own?"

Everyone, including the two Angel wing members looked at me and said, "By all means, Howard. What've ya got?"

I look at the map and say, "Since this new ability I have allows me to fire high power energy bolts through the same power I can erect barriers with, I can take some of the pressure off your girls. You two head over to the far side here to cut off this half of the fleet from firing on the shuttles. I can use my ability to shoot down these four ships over here with ease. Think of it like having your own artillery platform at your disposal. What do you think, Tact?"

He nodded and said, "I like it. Angel wing, you heard the demon. Begin combat!"

With that, I channeled my power and prepared to fire the first bolt when I heard a whisper.

' _The time has come.'_

The time has come? What could that mean? Didn't really have the luxury to think on it. When I used my demonic aura to locate the first ship, I charged up the bolt and shot it out through the hull. The bolt flew through space at blinding speed and hit the first destroyer, instantly destroying it as I prepared my second shot. The angel wing had engaged the far half of the fleet before they had reached firing range of the shuttles, so that worked out nicely. As soon as I let loose the second bolt, I decided to get a bit creative. I channeled my power through both of my arms, creating two bolts to try and end my side of the fight first.

Forte had destroyed a cruiser and Chitose had destroyed a destroyer, evening up the score for the moment.

After a few more seconds, I fired the pair of bolts through the hull. As they flew through space, Chitose destroyed another cruiser before turning towards one of the ships I had shot at and shouted, "Fatal Arrow!" Within moments of shouting, three energy bursts shot out from her frame, flying at amazing speed towards a cruiser. I bit my tongue a bit, hoping my shot would beat hers. It was going to be close.

 _ ***Kaboom***_

My shot hit and destroyed the cruiser, causing her shots to hit pieces of the debris. It was only by the breadth of a hair my shot won out. The other destroyer also exploded shortly after being hit by the other energy bolt I shot. That fatal arrow is one hell of a special, though; she had to come to a complete stop to use it. I can't say I like that flaw, but apart from that, definitely a great support unit.

Before we knew it, the battle was over.

Six months since I've had to actually participate in battle with the Angel wing, and I haven't lost a step. I'm not going to lie…

It's good to be back in the saddle.

 _ **Author's note: Hello everyone! We're back with a new tale from none other, than the Demon of the West.**_

 _ **Howard: Is it really necessary to announce me like that?**_

 _ **Yes. So, with that said, we sincerely apologize for making you wait, had to settle on a few ideas before we rolled the carpet out to begin typing. So, without further adieu, we hope you enjoy this chapter and please like and review it!**_


	2. Chapter 2: Small Problems

**Chapter 2: Small problems**

As Tact and Lester were both discussing how smooth the battle went, I had to shake my arm out a little. While I have had some practice with the new ability, it's still a bit new and does cause me a bit of…discomfort. It's not as bad as when I first used it, which felt like I ripped my arm clean out, but it was still uncomfortable at times.

"It's definitely nice to see you haven't lost a step in the months since the coup, Howard."

Tact's voice snapped my attention back to the moment as I said, "Taking into account that I'm still her majesties personal guardian, on top of the fact that she's started having me give the imperial guard a much more thorough training program since apparently the previous training plan was garbage and didn't prepare them at all for anything like that. You could say, to a degree, that I never really came home from war."

Everyone's expression on the bridge dipped as Milfeulle said, "All that means is that if something like that ever happens again, less people will get hurt. The demon I know is the best thing that could happen to help the imperial guard."

I couldn't help but smile as I Tact put his hand behind his head and jokingly said, "That's actually a lot more help than you could imagine. The guard hasn't really recovered since the war six months ago. We don't have enough ships or men to cover the Empire's territory or to deal with the Raider fleet. That was why we were recalled from the Frontier."

I placed my hand over my mouth in thought as he continued, "Ranpha and the rest are all dealing with different systems."

I shook my head as I said, "I knew the guard was stretched pretty thin because of the coup, but to think it was that bad…"

Lester then spoke up from behind Tact, "I know it's not really our place to ask. However, if we received permission from her majesty, would you be willing to stay aboard and help us chase down this fleet? With your tracking skills, we could put this problem to bed in a fraction of the time."

I looked to the side a bit as a groan escaped my throat. Milfeulle's expression grew to one of worry as I said, "Well…"

Tact looked at me with a pleading look and said, "Please Howard. The Empire needs all the help it can get, and right now, we really need yours."

I placed a hand over my face and rubbed my face as I turned and looked at Milfeulle, who looked at me with a smile and said, "You're going to protect the Elsior and the Angel Wing again? That's wonderful! I completely approve!"

I shot up in surprise as I did a double take and said, "Milfeulle, you're really okay with that? We only just found each other; I don't want to be separated from you again." She closed her eyes, leaned to the left and said, "Yep! It was really cool seeing you use your power again to help the Elsior and the Angel wing. And…" She opened her eyes as she looked up at me and said, "…I think everybody needs the Demon of the West right now."

Before I could say anything, out of nowhere, Almo said, "Docking procedures complete. The Angel wing is standing by in the hanger for debrief, Commander."

Tact nodded his head and as he turned towards the door, said, "Howard, Milfeulle, you want to come with me? I'm sure Forte would love to see you two while you're here." Milfeulle jumped at the idea, making me smile as I extended my arm, motioning him to lead the way.

We made our way down to the hanger, where the Emblem frames were docked. As we made our way to where Forte and Chitose were waiting, we walked past the Lucky Star. Looking at the frame brought back a flood of memories.

The carrier that Milfeulle blasted out of my path to Eonia, saving me from being shot and pulling attention off of me.

The time I leapt from hell hound to hell hound to buy the girls time to get back to the Elsior to get their frames and being carried back to the Elsior, wounded, atop the main cannon of the Lucky Star.

The beginning of the Coup where Empress Shiva and I were fleeing Transbaal and Milfeulle, Ranpha, and Forte swooped in and saved us from a detachment of ships that were chasing us.

Good memories, stressful times, but good memories nevertheless.

Upon approaching the two angel wing members, Forte spoke up and said, "Oi! Look who it is! Howard! Milfie! It's great to see you two again!" Milfeulle ran forward and gave Forte a hug as she giggled and said, "It's great to see you again Forte, it's been a long time." She chuckled as she said, "I know, we've been pretty busy since you two left. Which brings to mind…"

She threw me a coy look and said, "Soooooo, how are the lovebirds doing?"

I facepalmed and Milfeulle jumped a bit as I said, "Wow, from zero to chrono drive in three point five, huh? I see how you are." I laughed a bit as I said, "We're doing fantastic, thank you for asking." She looked at Milfeulle, who nodded with a bright smile as she said, "Good, I was worried I might have to get Ranpha and have to try to beat some sense into you." I scoffed as I replied, "Please."

As I said that, the young girl from earlier stepped forward, rendered a salute, "Ensign Karasuma Chitose. Moon Angel troupe, reporting for debrief."

I raised an eyebrow as Forte said, "Ahhh, allow me to introduce the newest angel wing member. Milfie, Howard, this is Chitose. Chitose, this is Milfeulle Sakuraba, and the Demon of the West. You're allowed to call him Demon. You'll earn the right to use his name, but only by his judgement as per her majesty, Empress Shiva's order."

Chitose bowed and said, "Of course, a pleasure to meet you my lord. Thank you for your assistance with my first battle. It was amazing to see the Demon of the West in action." I could only chuckle as I looked at Tact and the other girls as I said, "You think that's something, you ought to see me when I head into space to fight other ships." Her expression popped up as she said, "You're a fighter pilot?" I laughed, leaving her in confusion as I looked at Tact and said, "You didn't tell her!? Oh this is going to be so much fun!" Chitose's expression turned into one of worry as Forte said, "Don't worry Chitose; it's nothing to be worried about. Let's just say the Demon here is a LOT more capable than you could begin to imagine. I'll tell you a couple of stories of what he did during the coup a little later."

She nodded her head as she looked back to me and said, "It'll be an honor to hear about the Legendary Demon of the West." My eyebrows shot up as I looked at Forte and said, "Legendary? That's a new one. It's usually the Fearsome, or the Infamous, but legendary? People talk about me like that?"

She smiled a bit and said, "Yes, everyone knows about Commander Mayers, the hero who saved the empire in its time of crises alongside the Moon Angel wing and the Demon of the West. Not to mention you're the only known Demon in existence across the Galaxy."

I chuckled a bit, hiding the discomfort I felt at hearing that, and said, "Fair point. However…" I looked at her, allowing my eyes to turn from white with blue iris' to red with blue iris' and released a guttural growl as I bared my fangs and said, "Do not forget that I am also the most feared being in the Galaxy for a reason."

Chitose leapt back with an expression of pure fear on her face as she started to stutter, "Y-y-ye-yes, of-of course, m-my lord. P—pl—please fo-forgive me." She bowed deeply as I shifted my eyes back to normal and said, "Excellent, now that we have that settled…"

Milfeulle smacked my arm softly as she said, "Howard, be nice. Hello Ms. Karasuma. I'm Milfeulle Sakuraba. Please call me Milfie."

Chitose straightened up and looked at Milfeulle with a slight look of shock and embarrassment as Forte said, "Hey, I told you about her. The chaotic girl that piloted the Lucky Star." Chitose snapped out of her awe and said, "To meet the legendary pilot, Lt. Sakuraba as well…I am honored."

Milfeulle looked surprised as she said, "Huh? Legendary?"

I couldn't help but laugh as I said, "Ha ha, looks like I'm not the only one. That's a nice change."

As she continued expressing her admiration for Milfeulle, I couldn't help but think of a little kid meeting a movie star for the first time. Letting my thoughts wander, I began to think of how the best way to go about tracking down the raider fleet would be. I doubt there's much left of the ships to pull anything from the navigational computers. I could use my demonic aura to backtrack where the ships had come from. Though, that would only work up to a week prior to now, so that would only lead to a dead end if it was longer than that. So…

"…So, like I got you to stop calling me Lt. Stollen, it's the same thing with Milfie here. Though, the Demon is a special case, so, don't mind that."

Hearing Forte's voice snapped me from my train of thought as I regained clarity on where the conversation was at.

Chitose nodded and said, "I understand….ahem."

She looked at Milfeulle and said, "M….Mi….Mi…..Mi…."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Tact, who whispered to me, "She has an extremely strong military bearing and sense of formality. She still won't call me Tact." I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

Great, another one of 'those'. I hated dealing with pure military types; they had no understanding of bending regulations.

Milfeulle smiled and said, "Relax, don't be so tense, just say my name like normal. Milfie."

Chitose nodded and said, "Y-Yes!"

Then, it began again, "M…Mi…Mi…Miss…"

Two minutes later….

"Ms…M-Milfie…"

I groaned and said, "Damn the stars, I think I scared the poor girl worse than I thought. Either that or this is going to be a very long trip…" Milfeulle smacked my arm a bit and threw me a scolding look as she looked back to Chitose, smiled and said, "You don't need the Ms. part in front of my name." Forte shook her head and said, "I think that's the best she can do." Milfeulle smiled and said, "That was very good. We'll keep practicing and you'll get the hang of it." Chitose smiled and replied, "Yes, Ms. Milfie."

I shook my head a bit as the intercom chimed overhead and Almo's voice came over. "Commander Mayers, Angel Wing, and the Demon of the West. Please report to the bridge immediately."

I look at Tact as he says, "Looks like Lester got tired of waiting. Let's go."

As we made our way out of the hanger, I came to a realization. They never conducted a debrief. Oh well, I'm sure that will get covered later. As we started to walk, Forte stopped us immediately.

"Hold up, Milfie."

Everyone looked at Forte as Milfeulle looked at her and said, "Huh? Is something wrong?"

Forte quickly replied, "What are you doing?"

I had to resist the urge to smart off and say what does it look like she's doing. As far as I could tell, she didn't do anything wrong.

Milfeulle was confused as she said, "Huh…? What…?"

Forte then explained, "The evacuees from the shuttles are being unloaded on the planet. You're resigned from the Angel Wing. Shouldn't you get off with them?"

I could feel my chest tighten and my blood start to burn at what I just heard.

Milfeulle quickly answered, "No way! Forte. I can't just stay here!?"

Forte shook her head as she said, "That's not up to me. It's Tact's decision."

Milfeulle quietly said, "Tact…" The rest of us looked at him.

We were met with only silence from him.

I stepped forward and said, "If she goes, then I'm gone as well. I will not lose her again because of a stupid technicality."

Milfeulle looked at me as Tact said, "We're going to be fighting again. I know she's important to you, but wouldn't it be safer to…"

"Don't you dare presume to lecture me on what's safer, Takuto Mayers."

He stopped mid-sentence as I continued. "I spent centuries fighting to survive your people constantly badgering me and trying to kill me in more ways than I care to count. For the first time in my life, I actually have someone that I love very much and will die protecting if I have to. So, here's how this is going to work…"

I took a step forward and glared at him, making him firm his stance as he tried to take a strong stand as I said, "You want my help with this raider fleet, then she stays. If she goes, then I'm going with her. You're not getting one or the other, and I'm positive that the Empress would agree with me. So, what will it be?"

Tact put his hands on his hips as he looked down in thought for a moment before he said, "…Milfie stays. If you say that you can keep her safe, especially after seeing some of the things you've pulled off, I believe you."

Forte added, "Really now. Then it appears I spoke out of turn then. I'll have them prepare your room."

I simply huffed as Milfeulle bowed and said, "Thank you very much, Forte."

Forte waved her hand as she said, "No need to bow. I just wanted to be sure of your feelings."

I shook my head as I said, "Funny, that wasn't the impression I got from that. It would seem that you still have a lot to learn Forte."

He chuckled a bit before she popped up and said, "…oh yeah, I forgot to tell you something."

Milfeulle tilted her head after straightening up and asked, "What is it?"

Forte then said, "Try to get friendly with him out of sight. It'll be embarrassing if it's out in the open."

Milfeulle blushed profusely as she said, "Geez. Stop that, Forte." I'll admit, I had to clear my throat to hide a bit of a blush myself. Thankfully, nobody caught it.

Forte then turned to us and said, "Okay, let's go. The subcommander's probably getting mad." I scoffed as I said, "Yeah, let him. If he has a problem, he can say it to my face." With that, we proceeded through the doors and began to make our way to the bridge.

While we walked through the hall, Milfeulle walked beside me, giving my hand a gentle squeeze as she said, "You don't have to be so mean to her, you know. She's a member of the angel wing and a nice girl." I looked at her as I replied, "She has a strong military attitude. I've never gotten along with people like that because they tend to be so by the book that they can't stand it when someone bends the rules." Milfeulle gave me a pouty look as she said, "I don't think she'll be like that. Have a little faith Howard. Who knows? You might even grow to like her as much as the rest of the angel wing."

' _Thank god Mint isn't here, otherwise I'd be in REAL trouble.'_

Upon entering the elevator to the bridge, Chitose was careful to stay as far from me as she could. This didn't go unnoticed as everyone looked at me with a mix of sorrow and worry at the fact that Chitose now appeared terrified to be even near me.

Once we arrived at the bridge, I held back by the door while everyone else walked to the center platform to speak with Lester. Milfeulle looked at me and I smiled, released her hand and motioned her to go join them while I waited by the door. As she smiled and walked over to the group, I was left to my thoughts on how to handle the two situations I now had to deal with.

The raider fleet and Chitose Karasuma.

The raider fleet wouldn't be much of an issue. Figuring out where they were going based off their targets was child's play. Chitose Karasuma, however, was going to be something else. She seemed like a pleasant enough girl, however, looks can be extremely deceiving. Ranpha was the embodiment of that. As they were going over the situation thus far, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that this was going to be more than just a simple raider cleanup.

' _The past will soon be unveiled, bringing pain and suffering to all around you.'_

Like a soft breeze, I caught the sound and was barely able to make out what was said. It'd been months since my subconscious had tried to get in touch with me. The fact that it's doing so now did not bode well for me. Before I could continue my train of thought, Chitose said something that caught my attention.

"Furthermore, we will be joined by the other Angels on missions in the Zadha system."

Milfeulle jumped up in excitement, "That's right! Yay! We'll get to see everybody again!"

Tact chimed in, "I'm sure you would have preferred to meet without another war, but at least it's not all bad."

I raised an eyebrow as Lester commented, "You're too carefree…" All I could do is shake my head as I took a step forward and took a look at the patrol route through the nearby systems.

Lester then went on to say, "Have you gotten worse in the last 6 months? You should try to follow Chitose's example."

I turned to look at him and said, "Oh really?" I looked at Chitose and released a guttural growl that made her yelp and jump back in fear. I huffed and looked back at Lester and said, "Some example." I could feel Milfeulle giving me a scolding look, but I didn't look at her as I continued to analyze the patrol route to see what would be the most likely course for them to take.

Lester continued to talk to Chitose, asking about the lack of communications in the system and how we were supposed to meet up with the girls. I wasn't worried about it because if anything, I could use my demonic aura to locate the power cores of the emblem frames and direct the Elsior to meet up with them.

It worked similarly to how a multimeter would be used to find an electrical short.

Chitose, unfortunately, had a different idea, "Military code Article 87, Clause 1. Standby at the rendezvous point ordered."

I groaned as I put my hand to my forehead and said, "Chitose, word of advice. If you want to get into my good graces, I encourage you to keep that military code mess to yourself around me. I have no desire to hear it."

Chitose gasped a bit and said, "M—my apologies, my lord. I was only…"

"I'm aware of what you were trying to do, I'm telling you, keep it to yourself. If there's a rendezvous, then just give Almo the coordinates. We don't need to hear about any regulations behind it." I coldly said.

Chitose then said, "I understand, my lord. If I may speak freely, I think there will be no problems."

I sighed heavily before responding, "Very clearly, nobody has told her not to say that. Now we're going to have a problem come up before we meet up with them."

I decided I had enough and said, "Proceed to the coordinates that Chitose has and if the rest of the angel wing isn't there, let me know. I'll use my demonic aura to track them down and then we'll chase that fleet down."

With that, I left the bridge and proceeded to make my way to the tea room.

Upon entering the tea room, I found the metal chair that I used after my incident with the first time I tried sitting in one of the normal chairs. Taking a small amount of glee at the fact it was still here, I grabbed a milk tea from the counter, took a seat in it and took a sip, enjoying the silence as I let my thoughts wander.

After about 10 minutes, I decided to head down to Deck B and see how Milfeulle was settling in her old room. However, when I arrived, the room was locked.

' _Odd, I thought this room was supposed to be opened up for Milfeulle to stay in.'_

I proceeded to override the lock on the door and walked in to find everything still covered in white sheets and packed up. Something was really wrong here.

I proceeded to the com-system on the wall and called the bridge.

"Bridge, Demon."

Lester's voice came on, "Yes, my lord. How can we help?"

"I'm down here at Milfeulle's room and everything is still packed up and covered. I was under the impression that her room was to be prepared for her to stay in."

Lester replied, "Ahh, yes, that. Since Milfeulle is a regular civilian now, she can't reside on the same deck as the military personnel on board. So, she's staying in one of the guest quarters on Deck C."

I blinked for a moment before I replied, "What idiot came up with that rule? This room is hers specifically and nobody else could stay in it if they wanted to, so what's the point of keeping her out of her own room? That's the equivalent of saying that the Empress isn't allowed to stay in the palace."

Lester sighed a bit as he replied, "I understand where you're coming from, but, rules are rules, my lord. For the time being, she's assigned to the cleaning crew, that way she's still considered as part of the crew."

I growled a bit before I said, "Duly noted, I'll have a word with the Empress about this and get it sorted out quickly. Demon out." I closed the com-line and exited Milfeulle's room. I went ahead and relocked the door before I made my way to the tea lounge again.

Sitting in my chair and staring at my can of milk tea, I hear a set of footsteps come down the corridor. From the stride and the sound of the echo, it sounded like Milfeulle.

Sure enough, in comes Milfeulle.

She walks over to me and sits next to me as she says, "Hey Howard. Doesn't it feel great to be back on the Elsior?"

I sigh a bit as I said, "To a degree, I just found out that Lester is being a pain and won't let you into your room because of a technicality."

Milfeulle placed a hand on my arm as she said, "Its fine Howard. As long as I can stay on the Elsior with you, I'm happy." I couldn't help but smile as I shifted my hand to hold hers, causing her to blush a bit as she looked at our hands.

After about a minute, Chitose came strolling into the tea lounge with a tray that had a couple of cups and a plate of what smelled like dumplings. She set the tray down and said, "Pardon me. I brought tea and dumplings. If it's a good time for you, please have some. I brought some for Ms. Milfie as well." I looked at the tray and saw the dumplings and green tea she brought. I really don't care too much for the taste of green tea, but since I did kind of mess with her earlier, I do owe her the courtesy of accepting her invitation.

"Thank you Chitose, that is very thoughtful of you."

I picked up a cup and looked at it for a moment before taking a sip. And almost instantly, I was greeted with the same bitter taste that I remember from last time. However, despite my better judgement, I forced myself to swallow it as opposed to spit it back out.

Milfeulle smiled as she took a sip and said, "This is really good. You must be really good at making tea, Chitose."

Chitose's expression lit up as she said, "Thank you very much for the praise. It is an honor to receive the praise from you I was longing for, Ms. Milfie." I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that as Milfeulle asked, "Longing for?"

Chitose continued, "You're my goal. Otherwise, I would not have volunteered to be the pilot of Unit #6." I couldn't help but laugh at this point, causing both of the girls to look at me in confusion.

As I gathered my composure, I looked to Milfeulle and said, "Well, my dear angel of luck, it would seem you have a protégé. Now you have to try to live up to her expectations."

Milfeulle shyly said, "No way, you're making me blush." She giggled after saying that.

I had a pretty big smile on my face as well. It was nice to see her get the recognition that she deserved. In my opinion, Milfeulle was one of the unsung heroes of the war. I can't begin to tell you how many times she saved my sorry hide from a tight spot. So, I can definitely say trying to be like her is a good goal.

I looked at Chitose and said, "That's very admirable. I couldn't think of a better person for you to take after. She could teach you a lot."

Chitose perked up and said, "Th-thank you very much, my lord."

Milfeulle blushed a bit as she said, "Oh, you, Howard. You're completely shameless."

I smiled, lifted my hands and said, "I am a 400 year old dog, no shame!" I proceeded to bob my head side to side before bursting out in laughter as Milfeulle laughed with me. Chitose stood up and said, "Thank you for the conversation, I must return to my duties."

I looked at her and said, "So soon? You're more than welcome to stay and relax with us a little longer. Tact and Lester know better than to argue with me when it comes to time management. As for other things, well, Tact knows better, Lester will be getting a firm reminder here later."

Chitose bowed and said, "I appreciate your generosity, but I still have work that must be done. Please excuse me." With that, she walked out of the tea lounge, leaving me and Milfeulle alone.

I smirked as Milfeulle said, "She's a very nice girl, isn't she?"

I replied, "Her heart is in the right place. Though, I think she could tone back on the seriousness she has for her duties just a bit."

Milfeulle giggled as she said, "Maybe. I'll try hard too."

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at her and said, "Try hard? Try hard doing what?"

She just smiled and said, "For now, I'll bake a cake for you. I'll put all of my skill into it."

I smiled and said, "Well, in that case, I'll be looking forward to it. It's been a while since I've had one of your famous cakes."

She giggled and replied, "I better get started right away. Okay, excuse me." With that she got up and ran out. I chuckled to myself as I got to thinking about her cake. Then I remembered the last time she tried baking a cake for me….as well as the explosive aftermath.

"There's no way that would happen twice…right?"

The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if Milfeulle's luck would announce its return in the form of the oven exploding again. After about five minutes of internal debating, I decide to go to the cafeteria, since she can't use her room, which I still think is stupid. The cafeteria is the only place on the ship where she would have everything she would need to bake a cake.

Upon entering the cafeteria, I'm immediately blasted in the face with a barrage of aromas. Whether it was lunch being prepared, or Milfeulle's cooking, I'm not sure which, but it was tantalizing to say the least. I look over and notice Milfeulle talking with the head chef for the cafeteria. I could definitely tell she was happy to see Milfeulle again, within moments of entering, I see Milfeulle grab a box and walk into the kitchen. I decide not to bother her and proceed to head to the park.

As I'm walking through the park, I make my way back over to the Kafukafu tree. Still as big as I remember it, and just as alive as well. I decide to leap up and perch myself on one of the larger branches and take in the scent of the park around me. I close my eyes and start picturing a lot of the memories I had here.

The picnic that welcomed Tact and I aboard where the sprinklers went off and I saved Milfeulle's food at the cost of getting drenched.

The Kafukafu tree blooming and getting everyone except Vanilla and I sick with hay fever.

The airlock suddenly failing and causing Tact and I to work together to save the park.

The night before the battle when Milfeulle and I declared our feelings for each other and swore to be together through thick and thin.

What I had failed to notice in my line of thought was the pinkette at the base of the tree calling out my name.

"Howard!"

I shook my head and came back to my senses as I looked at her and said, "Oh, hey Milfeulle. Sorry, I was lost in thought. What brings you here?"

She put her hands behind her back and started to sway as she said, "I was enjoying all the memories that we had here, including the night before that final battle, where I made my decision to stay by your side no matter what."

I leapt down from the tree and landed in front of Milfeulle as I said, "I was actually remembering everything here as well. Do you….still feel that way?"

She smiled and said, "Of course, I'll follow you no matter where you go, my beloved demon."

I chuckled as I hugged her and said, "Just so you know, I have a bad feeling things are going to get dangerous here soon. I'll do everything I possibly can to keep you safe, but be sure to be careful when I'm not around, ok?"

She smiled and said, "Of course, I promise I'll be fine."

I looked at her and said, "Have you had a chance to go around and say hi to everyone? I'm sure there were a lot of people who missed you."

She giggled and replied, "Yep! The Elsior is just like I remember it, so warm and friendly. That said, there were a lot of people asking about you too. You should take the chance to walk around and say hi to everyone when you can."

I smirked and said, "You know what, that actually isn't a bad idea. Are you busy?"

Milfeulle took a step back before she said, "Actually, I do have to go talk to Tact really quick. You can start without me and I'll catch up to you, deal?"

I chuckled and said, "Deal." With that, we both left the park, her heading one way and I the other.

Making my way down to the hanger bay, I walked past a couple of the Emblem Frame docks before Creta noticed I had come in. Within seconds of her noticing, the rest of the hanger crew perked up.

"The Demon is back?"

"I don't believe it, I don't remember her majesty coming aboard."

"Do you think he remembers us?"

I shook my head as Creta came over, shook my hand and said, "Demon, long time no see. Milfie was just down here not long ago talking about you."

I raised an eyebrow as she quickly said, "Nothing bad, I assure you. Just how she was happy to be with you and to be back on the Elsior. I heard you're here to help us catch that raider fleet."

I scoffed a bit as I said, "Well, they asked me to help them catch it, but so far, they have yet to actually ask me to do any active tracking, so I've been wandering around and spending time with Milfeulle where I can since they have her working here on the cleaning staff."

Creta put her hands on her hips as her expression darkened and she said, "Our Milfie? On the cleaning crew?"

I lifted a hand as I said, "Before you say anything, I plan on talking to her majesty about that and a few other things here in a bit. So, it won't be for long, I'm not a big fan of the idea either."

Creta smiled when I said that before saying, "It's good to know that she has someone like you watching out for her. Take good care of our Milfie. You break her heart…"

I waved her off, "Yeah, yeah, Ranpha tried saying the same thing, and so far, she's zero for eight in trying to beat me up. Now if you want to make an attempt…"

Her hands shot up as she said, "Me? No way, I remember how you manhandled that pillar back during the war, and pried the clamps on the emblem frames open with your bare hands. I was going to say we were going to make your life miserable by other means."

I rolled my eyes as we both laughed before she perked up and said, "Ahhh, speaking of Emblem frames, could you do me a huge favor?"

I nodded as she continued, "We need Chitose to come down and calibrate her frame with the Elsior's chrono systems. We tried calling her, but she won't answer. Could you track her down and send her down here?"

Finally, something I can sink my teeth into.

"Absolutely, I'll have her down here tout suite."

She thanked me, and I proceeded to leave the hanger, making my way to the crew quarters. As I rode the elevator up to Deck B, I remember the last time I had to go look for someone. It was Mint. The angels had been called to standby, and she slept through the call. So, I went to her room and gave her a….courtesy wake up call. She wasn't too pleased with how I went about it, but considering how much teasing she did, I enjoyed every second of it.

So, naturally, first place I decided to look was her room.

Funny enough, they put Chitose's room next to Milfeulle's old room. Still don't understand why they won't let her into it, but I'll sort that little problem out after I get done here. I walked up to Chitose's room and knocked on the door.

No answer.

I took a deep breath of air, and immediately picked up her scent. She was definitely in there all right. So, I decided to knock again. This time, the door opened and what I saw caught me COMPLETELY off guard.

Chitose was dressed in a kimono that was quite….revealing.

I cleared my throat and said, "My apologies for waking you up, Creta asked me….to…"

"Nnnph…..zzzz…."

I blinked before I looked at her face and snapped my fingers a couple of times.

She was still half asleep.

Her eyes weakly blinked open a bit and she said something that really embarrassed me.

"….D…dad…?"

Did she just call me dad!?

Within half a second, she wrapped her arms around me, saying, "Daaad…"

At this point, I was beyond words. I didn't know whether to feel confused, happy, flattered, or violated. Probably a combination of all four. She then muttered, "NNlcome nmhome…Daaaad…"

I rolled my eyes at the situation. I have a half-naked girl clinging onto my armor, calling me dad. Man, talk about an awkward situation. She must have worked herself into a coma or something for her to be sleepwalking like this.

Ok, let's see if I can get her off without any incidents.

"Chitose, please let go of me, I'm not your father. Ahhh, Chitose, that doesn't mean tighter…."

She then muttered, "So meeaaann…daaad…You've been gone so long…..nnnmm…..I wanted to see you…" Good grief, I've heard of Daddy issues, but this is on a whole new level for me.

I gently grabbed her arms and said, "Chitose, you need to let go of me, I'm not your father…"

She giggled as she nuzzled into my armor and said, "hhmmmm…daaaad…"

I rolled my eyes. I was starting to get irritated. If I can't get her off of me nicely, then I would have to go full Demon on her butt. So, as I continue to try to gently pry her off, the situation takes a turn for the worst."

"Chitose, are you here?"

I heard Milfeulle's voice call around the corner. Perfect, the way this looks is extremely bad, and I don't think Milfeulle is going to like how it looks. So I grab her arms and try to pull them off me as I said, "Chitose, you seriously need to wake up. If you don't wake up, you're not going to like what I'll do next."

Milfeulle rounded the corner and said, "Chitose, Creta would like you to come to…."

And that was where she locked eyes…with me….holding a barely dressed Chitose nuzzling against me.

She stood there in shock for a moment as I said, "Milfeulle, this is not what it looks like. Creta sent me to track Chitose down, and when I knocked on her door, this happened. She's convinced I'm her father."

"Nnnn…*nuzzle*….Daaad…" Was all Chitose could mutter.

I rolled my eyes as I said, "I understand I'm old, but give me a break here. For the last time, let go Chitose."

I looked back at Milfeulle, who's eyes started to well up with tears as I said, "Milfeulle, hold on there, you're completely misreading the situation…." Before I could explain further, she bolted down the hallway, crying.

I was left in shock as Chitose continued to nuzzle my armor. At this point, I could feel the rage boiling in my blood as I decided enough was enough. I yanked her arms off of me and let out an ear-piercing roar the reverberated through the ship and snapped her wide awake and caused her to stumble back and fall over in terror.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-why were you hugging me?" Was all she could get out.

I was beyond enraged at that point as a few people ran around the corner and saw me staring into her quarters before I said through gritted teeth, "Don't even go there. Contact Creta in the hanger. You and I are going to have words later, Karasuma." With that, I stormed off, leaving a terrified and borderline crying Chitose on the floor in her room as I went to go chase Milfeulle down.

I knew that girl was going to be trouble…

 _ **A/N: Good afternoon readers, welcome back to Variance. Quick disclaimer, I do not own the Galaxy Angel series or the character, Inu-no-Taisho, that my OC is designed after.**_

 _ **Howard: Seriously?**_

 _ **What?**_

 _ **Howard: All that trouble of putting Milfeulle and I together, and you go and do that with the new girl?**_

 _ **I figured it would be more entertaining to end the chapter on a cliffhanger like you being caught in a compromising position.**_

 _ **Howard: You're a royal pain in the…**_

 _ **I am quite aware. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please read and review!**_


	3. Chapter 3: A New Player to the Game

**Chapter 3: A New Player to the Game**

I ran around the corner trying to catch up to Milfeulle. However her scent faded off and I lost track of where she ran too. I decided to start back tracking through the ship in all the usual places she would go. I immediately ruled out her room since it was sealed off. I wasn't sure where her new room was at, now that I think about it, so I'll save that for last. Before I could decide where to look first, however…

"Demon of the West, your presence is requested on the bridge."

"Fantastic timing…" I say sarcastically before making my way to the bridge.

Upon walking onto the bridge, I look at Tact and Lester and say, "Ok, gentlemen, unless this is an emergency, I have a situation with Milfeulle that seriously needs to be addressed."

Before they could answer, another voice from a display behind them spoke up, "Well, well, it seems like you two were telling the truth. The Demon of the West really is getting roped in."

I chuckled as the two men parted and allowed me to look at the display.

"Well, I'll be damned, General Luft Weizen. It's been a little while, what can I do for you?"

His expression dipped a bit as he said, "I'm glad Tact and Lester asked you to go with them to address this raider fleet problem. It's been starting to get out of hand."

I raised an eyebrow before I said, "I'm going to go on a limb and say something happened that has caused an uproar?"

He nodded as he said, "Yes, they have…." Then the channel went dead and played nothing but static.

I growled a bit as I said, "Almo, what happened?"

She was pressing several commands into her display as she said, "I don't know. The Comm systems suddenly failed. They were fine a moment ago."

I placed a couple of fingers and my thumb on my right eyebrow as I said, "Try to get him back please."

After a few seconds of static, the channel closed as Almo said, "The channel's gone completely."

I scoffed before I said, "Figures, first Chitose, then the comm systems. What else could go wrong?"

Tact looked at me in confusion as he said, "What happened with Chitose?"

Before I could answer, however, I felt a significant shift in my demonic aura. Something was coming towards us. I stared forward as I tried to feel who it was as Tact said, "Howard? Hello?"

The only thing I said was, "We're not alone."

Before they could ask what I meant, the proximity alarms went off. Coco called out, "A-A fleet appeared in front of us." Both Tact and Lester looked at me before Almo said, "I can't register an ID on the ships. They're neither military nor civilian vessels."

Tact looked at her and said, "Hail them!"

Almo pressed a few commands into her console before shaking her head and saying, "…No good. No response!"

I channeled my power into my arm, ready to set a barrier in case things got messy as Tact set the ship to yellow alert. As they were talking, I felt something through my aura. It was a familiar sensation, but it filled me with dread and anger. It was odd since I never felt anything like that since my power first made itself known. What could possibly be causing this feeling?

Almo's voice snapped me from my thoughts, "The enemy ship is hailing us!"

I rolled my eyes as I said, "Oh, now they want to talk?"

As Tact ordered the channel open, the most annoying voice I could have expected came over.

"Attention dogs wagging your tails for the old order! You will immediately… Uwaaaah! Y-You!"

I dropped my arm and shook my head in annoyance, "Oh you have got to be kidding me. Guys, seriously? This is your mystery raider that you needed my help to find? Man, this is…..I gotta tell ya, this is embarrassing. You couldn't find this idiot?"

The voice continued, "W-Why is the Elsior here?! I have no luck at all…"

There is no way this jackass was the source of the dread and anger I'm feeling. Whatever it was though, was coming from his ship. What in the hell could he possibly have found that would affect me like this?

"Do no falter, Your Excellency." A woman spoke out.

That voice was like ice down my spine. I've never heard her voice before, but whoever it was, that was the source of my dread. Who was this mystery woman that has me unsettled?

The woman spoke again, "Even the Emblem Frames are no match for your power, Your Excellency. You must remain dignified. Justice is with us."

I scoffed as I looked at Tact and Lester and said, "I'm pretty sure Eonia thought the same thing with the Black moon. Look how that turned out for him."

Then the man spoke up again, "It is as you say. Gwah ha ha ha ha!"

Tact decided to go ahead and speak up, "…Um? Hello? Did you have something to say?"

The man replied, "Shut up! Now you will listen to what I have to say! It has been a long time, brat! I see that you're still on the Elsior!" I couldn't help but roll my eyes as I was forced to endure this idiot again. "But this is where you meet your end! I will erase my disgrace from the previous battle!"

Tact was silent for a minute before saying, "…Umm….Who are you again?"

I stepped forward and said, "I remember this idiot. Rezom Mea Zomu." I stepped in front of the display as I looked at him and said, "Remember me?"

The color is his face drained as he said, "The Demon of the West!? I seriously have no luck."

The woman then stepped forward and said, "Your excellency, calm down. Do not argue with these peasants."

I scoffed as I replied, "Apparently, I'm going to have to teach your new playmate a lesson too. I am a dog demon, if you're going to insult me, you're going to insult me properly."

She looked at me and surprise shot onto her face as she said, "Wait a moment…your face. But that's not…." She fell silent before Rezom spoke up again. "I am the leader of the True Legitimate Transbaal Imperial Navy."

I rolled my eyes as the woman added, "And my name is Nefuria."

My demonic aura tugged at my soul as she spoke. Whoever this woman was, every fiber of my being was screaming at me to get away from her. Though, I couldn't begin to understand why, now was not the time to try and figure it out.

Rezom continued, "We are fulfilling the late King Eonia's dying wish and leading a fleet in the name of justice!" My blood boiled hearing him use Eonia's name like that. I was there when he died, he said nothing of the sort. If anything, he expressed remorse at not listening to me sooner. Great, just what I needed, salt for an old wound.

He finished, "Hahahahahahahaha. How's that? Awestruck?"

I scoffed and said, "Annoyed would be a more accurate term. Nefuria, how in the world are you able to tolerate that idiot?"

Before she could reply, Tact added his input into the situation. As they continued back and forth, I leaned over to Lester and said, "Mr. Coolduras, I don't know why, but my demonic aura is being tugged by her. Every fiber of my being is telling me we need to get away from her. I don't know what it is, but we need to make short work of this fleet because I don't think this is going to end here."

He nodded before Nefuria said, "Are you so confident in your own strength that you cannot think of any person greater than yourself?"

I threw a dirty look over at Tact before I said, "Well, considering how I've fought armies single-handedly, as well as battled emblem frames in open space with nothing but my abilities, and I stopped the Black Moon's overwhelming power several times before we destroyed it with the Chrono break cannon. Gee, I wonder, why don't you tell me, because I would love to know if there's someone else in the galaxy that is like me."

She simply chuckled as Rezom said, "Now, the true and legitimate Transbaal Imperial Navy will pass…"

I walked over to Almos console and said, "Don't care, fuck off." With that, I closed the channel. I shook my head as she looked at me. I looked at her and said, "How many times do we have to deal with this idiot?"

Almo giggled as Lester said, "I haven't seen that woman before, but she could be another one of Eonia's followers."

I walked back over to the two and said, "No, there was something different about her. My demonic aura hasn't reacted to anyone before. Normally, I can feel the presence of ships, or the life force present in people, but that…" I pointed out in front of the ship as I finished, "…that was something else. Like…like trying to mix two chemicals that weren't compatible with each other in a beaker, causing an explosion. Even now, I can feel her, pulling and testing my aura. The sooner we deal with them and get the hell out of here, the better."

The proximity alarms sounded as Coco yelled, "Incoming missile!"

I shot my arm out and erected a barrier around the Elsior almost as soon as that first trill rang out. Within seconds, the missile hit my barrier, causing a slight discharge to feedback through and jolt my arm. It didn't hurt, but it was enough to cause my arm to suddenly go numb, causing the barrier to fall.

I began to shake my arm out as Tact said, "Howard, are you ok?" I shook my head and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Arm just went numb, that's all." As I started to get feeling back into it, I lifted my arm to re-establish the barrier around the Elsior. However, as my power channeled into my arm, a sudden feedback pulse erupted, sending me flying backwards and into the bulkhead, causing the metal to cave where I hit it before I hit the ground.

I groaned as Tact said, "Angel wing, deploy to engage enemy forces!" Forte and Chitose rogered up as I pushed myself to my knees. Lester ran over and started to help me up, asking, "My lord! Are you alright?" As I got back to my feet, I noticed several arcs of electricity pulsing across my arm as I said, "No, I'm not sure how, but that missile that I stopped caused a feedback that shorted out my power. I'll be out of action for the time being until I can stabilize it."

With that, I left the bridge and made my way down to the medical bay.

As I sat with eight different wire patches sticking out of me, I could only huff and puff as Dr. Cera ran her tests to see if she could figure out what was wrong with me.

"How long do I have to sit here hooked up like a battery?"

She waved her hand as she didn't look away from her monitor and said, "Just a few more minutes, my lord. Please, try to relax." Huh, relax, easier said than done.

While the electrical arcing had stopped, my arm still felt a bit numb. Was it that missile that did it? Or was it because I felt bad about what happened earlier with Milfeulle and Chitose? Thinking back to when I first discovered this power, I remember my subconscious mentioning that it only works if my emotions are in check.

On one hand, I felt really bad that I never got the chance to explain what happened to Milfeulle. On the other hand, I also started to regret blowing up at Chitose the way I did. She was sleeping after all, so that was probably bound to happen if she was exhausted.

While I was thinking about this, Milfeulle ran into the med bay and hurried over to my side, grabbing my hand.

"Howard! Are you alright? I came as soon as Tact told me what happened."

I chuckled as I gave her hand a gentle squeeze and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. My emotions were knocked around after that incident with Chitose earlier and my power backfired as a result when I stopped that missile earlier."

She placed her other hand on my hand as she said, "Chitose told me what happened, and she's really sorry about it. I'm sorry I didn't give you the chance to explain what happened. You would think I'd know better by now." She choked a bit as she held back tears while smiling at me.

Dr. Cera chimed in and said, "All done. From what I can see, physically, you're a bit bruised from that landing you took, so you'll be a bit tender for the next day or so. Apart from that, I can't tell you what went wrong."

I sat up and ripped the wire patches off me as I said, "Thanks Doc….Ow!" My hand shot to my side as I hunched over from the sharp pain I felt in my side. Milfeulle looked at me with worry and said, "Howard! Are you ok?" I waved her off as I said, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Listen, I went down to Chitose's room because I got to talking with Creta and she asked me if I could track her down so she could come to the hanger. When I knocked on her door, however, I didn't expect her to sleepwalk. After you ran off, I kinda….blew up at her."

Milfeulle sniffled a bit before she said, "I'm…sorry…"

I raised an eyebrow as I asked, "Milfeulle?"

Then it all came out.

She started crying as she said, "I'm sorry, Howard!"

I stood up and held her hands as I said, "Milfeulle, calm down. What are you apologizing for my dear angel of luck?"

She continued to sob as she replied, "I was just thinking about the Angel Wing and completely forgot about you!"

I couldn't help but chuckle as I said, "Okay. I don't have any problems with that, after all, you've known them longer than me, except Chitose, but given the circumstances, I couldn't begin to hold that against you."

As she sniffled, she added, "I went to the Kafukafu tree in the park and prayed for everybody's safety…"

I gave her hands another gentle squeeze as she continued, "But I forgot to pray for you and how important you are! So…Howard…"

Dr. Cera sadly said, "My, my."

I shook my head, "Milfeulle, the fact I got hurt only went to show that I didn't feel comfortable with what I did to Chitose or with how I felt about finding you after that. It was my fault in every aspect that I got hurt, not yours."

Dr. Cera chimed in, "That's right. This is nothing to be worried about, he's recovered for far worse injuries than this."

Milfeulle quietly sobbed as she replied, "But…it doesn't change the fact that you got hurt. …Howard. Isn't there some way I can be useful to you?"

I pulled her into a hug and said, "Milfeulle, you are the keeper of my heart. I couldn't possibly trust you with a more important task. You're the first person I've fallen in love with and the fact that you care is more than enough for me."

She sniffled as she gently returned the hug, choosing to remain silent as Dr. Cera said, "I know! I heard mention of you baking a cake earlier. Have you had the chance to try it, my lord?"

I shook my head as we broke the hug and said, "I haven't. I've actually been waiting for Milfeulle here to tell me when she was all ready for it. Why don't we try a piece?"

Milfeulle quietly said, "Something more than a cake…"

I leaned down and asked, "Hmmm?"

She sobbed again and said, "…It's nothing. I…Excuse me!" With that, she ran out of the med bay.

I sighed as I looked at Dr. Cera and said, "Am I all done here, Doc?"

She nodded and said, "She's worried about you. Honestly. It must be hard to be popular." I rolled my eyes and said, "I was quote "popular" unquote back when a lot of these folks' great grandparents were still in diapers. No, this is different. If you'll excuse me Doc…"

I turned towards the door, wincing a bit from another sharp pain in my side and left the med bay. I tried to follow after Milfeulle, but after a few minutes, I lost her scent and she was gone. What is going on with me? First my power backfires, I actually got hurt from the backfire, now my sense of smell is failing. It's almost as if my abilities were being held back or manipulated by something. Maybe it's because I still need to apologize to Chitose for blowing up on her earlier that things are still out of control for me. Well, I'll give it a try in the morning, at the least, I may as well try to get some sleep.

The next morning, I got up and went to Chitose's room to see if I could go ahead and apologize first thing. However, I was only greeted by silence and a solid door. So, I started to make my way around the ship until I found out she was on the bridge with the rest of the senior staff. So, I decided to head up to the bridge to see what was going on.

Upon entering the bridge, everyone looked at me, and Chitose immediately cried a bit and jumped behind Forte. Forte looked at her, then back at me and said, "Oi, that reminds me, you owe Chitose here an apology for yesterday, Howard." I waved her off as I said, "Actually, that was why I came up here was to find her. What I wasn't going to do was interrupt a meeting to do it. So, what's going on?"

Lester and Tact proceeded to fill me in on a voice that the space whale had heard mentioning Eden and the ships systems managed to pick up the transmission, but it was badly garbled. So, they decided to ask Chitose for her help in analyzing and piecing together the transmission. As they praised her, she lightly blushed while brushing them off, though careful not to step from behind Forte into my view.

Forte looked at her and said, "If it's something you can do, then take the lead. Don't ever hesitate."

Chitose bowed lightly and said, "Thank you, Ms. Forte. Then allow me to report on the result of my analysis to all of you. I have nearly completed analyzing, processing, and cleaning up the signal." Wait, she was already done? Damn, that was fast. This had to have been an issue before we met up with that fleet.

She sadly looked away as she continued, "However…I cannot decode some of the words, so I am unsure of the contents." Coco chimed in from her console, "But that's still amazing. Data analysis is a very time consuming process."

Tact asked what the message said, to which Chitose replied, "The message seems to be a broadcast directed to the Children of Eden. For example…"

At that moment, Milfeulle barged right onto the bridge and said, "Howard! There you are, I got you some pain killers from the store…..eh….oh, you're in the middle of a meeting?"

I chuckled and said, "That's right. Sorry Milfeulle."

She sadly said, "No, it's okay. Sorry…I didn't mean to bother you."

As she turned to leave, I said, "Milfeulle, wait a se…." The bridge door closed and she was gone. I put my hands on my hips and said, "By the stars of damnation, I cannot seem to catch a damn break lately." I sighed and turned back to the group as Lester said, "My lord, Chitose hasn't even started talking yet." I threw him a dirty look and growled, causing Chitose to jump back behind Forte as Lester said, "My apologies, I meant no disrespect, I was simply saying…"

I lifted a hand, cutting him off, took a deep breath and said, "Please continue Ms. Karasuma."

She took a step out and continued, "Like I said, the message seems to be directed at the Children of Eden. There are phrases like "Fulfill your mission" and "There's no time left." I placed my hand under my chin as I thought about those phrases. Obviously it was a serious plea, but what was the mission that was apparently so time sensitive?

As the group continued to converse amongst themselves, the main thing that caught my attention that had me confused was the Children of Eden. Was that in reference to Transbaal? Or maybe there were survivors from the Chrono quake that were on a mission to try to rebuild the fallen empire? Whatever the case, unfortunately, we were at a standstill. However, Tact had an idea that some of the lost technology the Elsior found on the frontier before we met up with them might have a connection with the coded message. So, Forte, Chitose, Tact, and myself made our way down to the warehouse.

As we made our way down there, I said, "Hey Chitose, can you hang back here with me for a minute?"

She seemed extremely hesitant to leave the group, but Forte gave her a nudge to hang back with me while we walked through the passageways. When she was next to me, I sighed and said, "I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have blown up on you like that back at your quarters yesterday."

She jumped a bit as she said, "No, m-my lord. I should be the….."

I raised my hand and continued, "You were asleep and I should have probably known that could have happened by waking you up. I was upset that Milfeulle had misconstrued what was happening at that point in time and I took my irritation out on you. I sincerely apologize and hope you'll forgive me." I bowed lightly to show my sincerity.

Then she did something I haven't seen her do at all in the time I've known her.

She smiled.

"Thank you, my lord. While I still think that I'm more to blame than you are, I accept your apology and hope we can work together from here on out."

I nodded and we caught back up to Forte and Tact as we arrived at the warehouse to find Milfeulle inside, catching us offguard.

I raised an eyebrow as she said, "Huh? Howard? And everyone else?"

Tact was the first to speak, "Milfie! What are you doing here?"

She smiled and answered, "I'm helping the space convenience store. I can at least do that much." I couldn't help but chuckle and shook my head. That's the Milfeulle I know, always willing to lend a helping hand. She added, "Why are all of you here?"

Chitose stepped forward and replied, "We came to look for relics from Eden's era."

Forte started to look around, as did Tact as I looked at some of the crates myself. Food….clothes…machines…

Tact made the suggestion that we split up, so I decided to head towards the back corner of the warehouse by myself, that way I can collect my thoughts, as well as cover more ground. Milfeulle then chimed in, "Let me help too then!"

Chitose looked at her with worry as she asked, "Ms. Milfie, don't you have other work to do?"

She shook her head and said, "It's okay, he said that it wasn't urgent. Um…first this container! Here we go…!"

Forte quickly yelled out in shock, "Hey, Milfie! The one above that will fall!"

Chitose also cried out, "Look out!"

Milfeulle cried out as the containers fell, to which I used my demonic speed to leap into action and knocked her out of the way, which led to me getting clobbered by the crates. Forte and Chitose ran over to Milfeulle while I pushed the crates off of me. Tact asked if I was alright, I waved him off and told him to check Milfeulle.

After I freed myself from the mess, I ran over to Milfeulle, who had scraped her elbow and knee from me pushing her. I sighed a bit of relief, as did everyone else as she said, "I-I'm sorry…"

Forte then said, "Hey, just leave this to us and take care of your own work."

Milfeulle got up and shook her head as she said, "N-No! Please let me help! I'll be careful this time!" I smiled as I said, "Definitely have to admire your dedication." Forte was in shock as Chitose said, "Um, Ms. Milfie. We'll be okay with just us…"

Milfeulle looked at us sadly and said, "…Yes…I understand…" With that, she walked out of the warehouse. It doesn't take my demonic aura to feel how sad she was at not being able to help.

Forte then perked up and we each split up and made our way to our own corner of the warehouse. As I looked through the crates, I had a realization. I was able to use my demonic speed to save Milfeulle and I didn't get hurt. So, on one hand, if there's danger present, I'll be able to use my abilities without any difficulty. On the other hand though, I don't think I'm out of the woods quite yet with Milfeulle, though I did take a step in the right direction with apologizing to Chitose.

Within a few minutes, Chitose's voice rang out as she found the container with the lost technology. I quickly ran over to the container and Chitose found something that would help her finish decoding the message. So, at least that issue was resolved. So, I decided to try and track Milfeulle down.

I made my way to the bridge first, where Tact was filling Lester in on what happened in the warehouse. I stepped in and said, "Hey guys, quick question, have you seen Milfeulle at all?"

Lester shook his head, "No, not since earlier…"

Then Almo spoke up, "That's really hot, my lord! Unable to leave your girlfriend alone for a moment…right?" I threw her a dirty look before I said, "Really?" Coco chimed in and said, "No?" I couldn't help but feel like I just got blindsided as I said, "Well…maybe…"

Almo continued, "See Coco? I told you." Coco replied, "But, we've never actually seen them…"

I raised an eyebrow as I said, "Ok, what are you two talking about?"

Almo looked at me with determination as she said, "My lord!"

I looked side to side without turning my head as I said, "Yeeeeesss?"

Then her expression turned into a happy one as she asked, "What is it like?"

I blinked twice before I said, "Uuuuhhhh, what is what like?"

She playfully scolded me as she answered, "Now, now, don't play dumb. Shouldn't you know with Milfeulle?"

I looked at Tact and Lester, who both just shrugged their shoulders as I said, "What about her?"

She then turned in her seat to face me as she fiddled about and said, "I mean, you and Milfeulle, um…How far along is your relationship, I guess."

I was so confused at this point, so I pursed my lips before saying, "Our relationship…? Uh…not sure what you're referring to here."

Coco decided to step in, "Almo, you can't ask like that."

Almo looked at her and whined, "What? You were curious too."

Coco calmly replied, "You have to be more direct or how's he supposed to understand?" I get that I'm a demon with superhuman senses and powers to match, but telepathy is Mint's schtick, not mine.

I simply blinked as I waited for someone to clarify what was being asked.

Then Coco turned to face me, "My lord, I'll ask you straight on…Are you two going out?" I couldn't help but stifle a laugh as I said, "Well, yeah…"

Coco then caught me off guard when she asked, "Then, have you kissed?"

My jaw hit the floor and I was left in shock at the question.

Almo sparked up, "You like each other and dated for six months, right? There's no way nothing would happen, right!?"

I gulped a bit as I said, "Well….the first 3 of those months she was settling into her new home…"

Almo playfully scolded me again as she said, "Come on. So how about it? How many times have you kissed?"

I can't believe I'm actually embarrassed to say this.

I found myself stumbling over my own words, "We….uh…well…..haven't actually…..had one yet…."

She cried out, "No way!"

Coco whined out next, "…Unbelievable…Aaaah, that's horrible…"

Almo joined in, "My lord, is this true!?"

I honestly felt like I was being entrapped here. I raised my hands and quickly said, "Yeah. I'm more than happy just to have Milfeulle with me. I'll be honest, the thought never really crossed my mind until you mentioned it."

Coco tilted her head and asked, "So, it's more of a platonic relationship then?"

Almo quickly retorted, "But that's not the same as how true love should be. Love's more burning up and makes you feel on fire, right? Barriers to two people's love! So it burns up! That's true love!"

I blinked before I said, "Almo, no offense, but you reeeeeaaaaalllyy need to stop hanging around Ranpha so much. She's rubbing off on you."

As the two continued their barrage, I couldn't help but wonder why I was being left to the wolves by Lester and Tact. Then the two started to debate what kind of kiss that Milfeulle wanted from me. At this point, I was flabbergasted beyond words. I was stuck here trying to figure out how the hell this even came up when Lester finally stepped in to try and pull me out of the fire.

He calmly said, "Idiotic."

Almo retorted, "It's not idiotic! It's very important!"

Then Tact came in, "Now, now Almo. Lester likes married women. He's not interested in stuff like this."

Almo cried out, "Eeeeeeeeeeeeehh!?"

I burst out laughing, leaning over the railing for support as he quickly lectured Tact, "Hey! Tact! Who said I liked married women!?"

Almo sadly sniffled as she said, "No way….Subcommander Coolduras…You're that kind of man…"

He quickly turned and said, "Aaahh! Shut up! Knock it off Almo!"

Coco then added, "He's not denying it, Almo. So…he really does…"

I was cracking up so badly at this point that I couldn't move. Realistically, I should have taken this golden opening while I could and got the hell out of there, but this was too funny, even by my standards.

Lester continued to deny it before demanding Tact to fix the mess he caused. To which I was able to regain my composure enough to say, "You know what, I'm going to go ahead and…uhh…go and find Milfeulle. Pfffft…" I ran off the bridge before I started laughing again, and funny enough, Tact was right behind me.

As I walked through the hall, I looked at Tact, who caught up to me and said to him, "You're an ass. Grade A class act, but still an ass. Ha ha ha ha. Though, I should be thanking you for bailing me out of that firestorm." He laughed as he said, "No problem, I figured it would buy you enough time to get off the bridge. Sooner or later, they'll figure out that he's not like that, but I like messing with him every now and again."

After a few minutes, we parted ways in the passageway and I made my way back to my room. Once the door had closed behind me, I took my pauldrons and armor off and set them to the side. I don't know why, but my side had been killing me ever since I left the med bay, so I wanted to take a look and see if maybe I had a bruise or not. Sure enough, upon opening my under kimono, there was a large bruise about the size of a watermelon on my side. Granted, it didn't hurt unless I twisted too much or pressed it, but it was still going to be a nuisance for at least the day.

I let out a sigh and turned towards by nightstand, which had the bottle of painkillers and a note on top of them. Seeing as the only person with access to my room is Milfeulle, not to mention she tried bringing me painkillers earlier on the bridge, didn't take much to figure it was from her. So, I picked up the note and read it:

' _These are pain killers from the space convenience store. The clerk told me they work very well for all kinds of aches and pains if it's not enough to make you go to the med bay. I wanted to give it to you myself, but you looked really busy with that meeting. Oh yeah, be sure to take them at least half an hour before you go to bed or do any sparring with Ranpha. They should help you feel as good as new.'_

I couldn't help but chuckle as I looked at the painkillers and mumbled, "I swear, that girls heart has got to be made out of gold. She knows I don't need these, but she still wanted to look out for me…"

I set the note down and noticed there was another one on my pillow. Tilting my head, I picked that one up and read it as well:

' _P.S. Howard, I'm trying my best to be useful to you and everyone else! Please keep believing in me.'_

I put the note on my nightstand and I placed a couple of fingers on my temple as I shook my head. Despite all my reassurances, she still doesn't believe me. Well, damn. Ok, I'm going to have to actually sit her down and try to get to the bottom of her worries.

After quickly getting back dressed and putting my armor on, I began to roam around the ship. It didn't take long for me to pick up Milfeulle's scent. What confused me though, was it went towards the shooting range.

She **NEVER** goes down there.

Granted, as long as Forte was down there, there wasn't anything to worry about. Still, why would she head there? She usually would wait for Forte anywhere else except there. Only one way to find out.

As I walked into the shooting range, I could hear Forte and Milfeulle talking. Upon rounding the corner, I caught probably the single scariest sight I've ever seen in my life.

Milfeulle was holding a .45 berretta pistol.

Forte was coaching her on how to hold it, which Milfeulle followed, but sounded nervous as she replied to Forte.

Calmly, Forte said, "Come on, relax your shoulders. Pull your chin up more."

Milfeulle replied, with a bit of hesitation, "Ahhh…yes!"

"Ok, now slowly pull the trigger. Fire!"

The pistol rang out as she fired, causing me to shoot my hands to my ears from the level of the sound. For normal people, I'm sure that would have been a scare, but for me, that was damn near deafening. I should have known better, but I was too enraptured and terrified at the fact that Milfeulle was holding a gun.

Within a couple of seconds, a light ping was heard from the ground as Milfeulle said, "Oh! The gun spit out a bullet."

She began to move to pick it up when Forte quickly said, "Hey! That's the cartridge casing! Don't touch it, you'll burn yourself!"

Not long after, I heard Milfeulle yelp.

The two continued to converse amongst themselves as I shook off the ringing that was washing out most of my hearing. After a minute, I finally was able to hear again when I looked up and heard Forte yell, "MILFEULLE! DON'T…"

The next thing that happened, another gunshot rang out and I felt something shoot inside my mouth and jerk my head back, knocking me off balance and hitting the bulkhead to hold myself up as I heard a scream.

 _ **A/N: Hi everyone! I sincerely apologize for the lack of updates over the course of the last couple of months. Had a lot going on between back to back anime conventions, holiday prep, and getting ready to move to Japan.**_

 _ **Howard: Probably the only time I can honestly say that he wasn't being lazy. So I express my sincerest apologies as well.**_

… _ **what are you apologizing for?**_

 _ **Howard: For not being proactive and poking you to continue the story when you had spare time.**_

 _ ***shaking my head* Geee, thanks. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please like and review and we'll be sure to get the next chapter out before the new year. Until then, have a happy holiday!**_


	4. Chapter 4: Arisen from the Ashes

**Chapter 4: Arisen from the Ashes**

Within the split second from firing, I had barely enough time to catch the bullet in my fangs. The momentum was still enough to knock me off balance and force me to hold the bulkhead to keep from falling down. The heat from the bullet combined with the sudden force from the impact really stung the inside of my mouth as the bullet cooled within seconds. However, that wasn't my immediate problem…

"HOWARD! Oh no, please be okay. I am so sorry!"

Milfeulle had dropped the gun and ran over to me along with Forte as I shook the shock out of my head and chuckled before looking at the two girls and flashed a toothy grin, showing off the bullet I was holding in my teeth.

"Guess what I caught." I said, albeit rather muffled since I didn't want to move it out of my teeth quite yet.

Forte's eye widened in shock as she said, "You caught a bullet?! That's impossible!"

I chuckled as I spit it out, rotated my jaw and said, "Impossible? You literally just saw me do it, so CLEARLY that's not the case." Milfeulle was crying as she apologized over and over again for accidentally shooting me. I chuckled and said, "Milfeulle, it's alright. It was an accident, they happen. I'm perfectly fine. Just relax, everything is ok. Which brings me to why I came down here."

I stood back up and looked at her as she wiped her tears away and asked, "So, first thing I've got to ask, why in the world are you at the firing range? You never come down here to shoot anything."

Milfeulle was caught off guard at the question as she clambered for an answer, "Ahhhh, well….it's…..uhhhh…"

I couldn't help but smirk a bit at how cute she looked trying to answer a simple question before she said, "Ahh, excuse me!" Within a couple of seconds she had ran out of the firing range, leaving me and Forte standing there.

I sighed as I shook my head, "What in the name of the stars is up with her? This is not normal for her." As I was trying to make sense of the situation, Forte spoke up, "Hey Howard, sorry about that, Milfeulle asked me to coach her in using a firearm and I didn't know you had come in."

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why did she ask you for coaching on using a gun?"

She shrugged her shoulders as she replied, "Who knows, she had to stop though because she couldn't handle the smell of gunpowder." That had me a bit worried, what caused Milfeulle to take a sudden interest in learning how to use a gun?

Before the thought could evolve, I was snapped back into reality as Forte asked what I was going to do. Naturally, I told her I was going to chase after Milfeulle and get to the bottom of this whole mess before it gets worse.

I departed the shooting range and proceeded to track Milfeulle's scent down to the elevator hall on B Deck. Sure enough, she was looking at some of the vending machines there as I walked up to her and said, "You know, you surprised me. I heard you were trying really hard and had Forte train you with guns."

Her expression sank as she replied, "Yes…but it didn't go very well. I wish I could shoot like Forte." I couldn't help but smile at this as I said, "Just try your best with whatever you try. I'm right here to support you no matter what."

Milfeulle blushed slightly as she said, "Howard…"

I took a deep breath and then said, "That said, why'd you suddenly want Forte to train you with firearms, of all things?"

As she stammered for an answer again, I decided to make light of the situation, "This isn't some crazy way to lose weight again, is it?" I couldn't help but laugh internally at my own joke. She, however, didn't laugh as she said, "N-no…"

I sighed before saying, "If it's not that, then what is it? What am I missing?"

Milfeulle's expression then perked up into a serious tone as she said, "It's still a secret! Anyway, I'll try my best!" With that, she ran off…again.

I watched her run off and couldn't help but shake my head as I said, "I really don't know what this is about, but I'm becoming more and more concerned by the minute."

Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I tracked her down through the ship again only to be led to the gym. Considering Ranpha isn't on board, there shouldn't be anything to out of the ordinary about her going into the gym.

Oh, how wrong I was…

I poked my head in the gym to find Milfeulle punching a punching bag over and over again, trying to set a rhythm. I couldn't help but smile a bit watching her work hard. As she was getting into a groove, she threw out a really hard punch that knocked the bag backwards.

However, what goes up…must come down.

Not paying attention to the bag, it swung back and smacked her right in the nose, causing her to stumble backwards and hold her nose as she lightly complained about how it hurt. I walked in and said, "That was a pretty hard hit, are you okay, Milfeulle?"

She looked at me in shock, then ran out of the gym in a hurry as I said, "What in the…WHY DO YOU KEEP RUNNING AWAY FROM ME!?" I was a bit exasperated at this point with all the running around I was doing just to try and talk to her. As much as I love her, I'm really beginning to wonder if I should just trap her, and then talk to her.

I attempted to track her down again; however, I lost her scent in my frustration. So, sadly, that was the end of my hunt for the time being. As I began to make my way back to my room, I heard a voice call out to me, "Yo, Howard!"

I turned around and Forte came walking down the passage towards me as she said, "Good timing, I was just looking for you. I wanted to talk to you about Milfie. I'm becoming worried about her. She's trying really hard to do things as if she's being left behind and trying to catch up. You saw what happened down in the firing range. I don't think things are going to get better after that."

I nodded my head as I said, "Well, you have to give her credit for trying. Considering that she doesn't really have much else to do, I can't really fault her for trying to find something else to do. Ahh, actually, that reminds me, I have to make a call, if you'll excuse me."

Forte waved as I went to my room and sat in front of the console at the desk and opened a com channel with the bridge. Almo quickly answered, "Yes my lord, what can I help you with?" I leaned forward and said, "I need you to patch me through to Empress Shiva on Transbaal."

She nodded and acknowledged before her picture was replaced with the ship's emblem while my call was being established. Within a few seconds, Empress Shiva's face appeared on my screen as she said, "Howard! It's good to hear from you! How goes the hunt for those raiders?"

I quickly said, "We found them fairly quickly. It turned out the fleet was being led by that idiot, Rezom, from back during the coup. Apparently, he's convinced he can overthrow the empire without Eonia. Though, there was someone with him that has me concerned…"

After about 45 minutes of talking with Shiva, I filled her in on what had transpired since the battle, to include how Milfeulle had been denied access to her own room. I could practically hear her blood pressure rising through the com after I told her that. Once we finished, she asked me to transfer her over to Tact, which I gladly did so. Once I closed my end of the channel, I couldn't help but smile.

Tact was about to get the lecture of a lifetime.

After taking a shower, I was getting a bit parched, so I decided to make my way to the lounge. Shockingly enough, Milfeulle and Chitose were there with a couple of drinks. I walked over to them and sat down before asking, "Hey girls, what's going on?"

Milfeulle shushed me and told me to be quiet for a minute. She didn't say why, but she said it was important. That was when Chitose said that she was a telepath.

I damn near face palmed.

Now why, oh why, would Milfeulle go and say something like that, she is definitely no Mint. That's when it started to dawn on me.

Firearms, the gym, telepathy.

She was trying what each of the other girls on the angel wing were specifically skilled at. Firearms are Forte's specialty. Working out and fighting are Ranpha's. Telepathy, well, we all know that's Mint's gig.

But why was she trying to be like the other girls so badly?

Her attempt at telepathy ended up devolving into just regular chatter about miso soup and all the things that could go with it. I damn near threw up when I heard them say they liked eggplant. I've tried eggplant, it was absolutely disgusting. I mean it was vile to have in my mouth, let alone attempt to eat. But, I digress…

As I looked at the two girls, I asked, "Milfeulle, why are you trying to be like Mint?"

Once again, she ended up stammering for an answer, and before I knew it, out the door she ran, once again.

I dropped my face into my hands and sighed. At this point, I was really beginning to wonder if she was starting to hate me with as much as she was running away from me. Chitose looked at me sadly and said, "Is she okay? I'm really worried about Ms. Milfie. She's really important." I dropped my hands, clicked my tongue, and said, "To tell you the truth, I really don't know anymore. She won't talk to me. I'm honestly beginning to wonder if she feels like she's dead weight. As much as I love her, I don't want to give up on her, but she keeps running away every time I try to talk to her. It's really disheartening, you know?"

Chitose nodded as she replied, "I'm sorry. I wish I could be of more assistance. She only said I could help and that was all."

I chuckled a bit as I said, "It's alright. The fact that you care is more than enough. She is lucky to have someone like you looking up to her."

This caused her to blush a bit as she quickly denied it, however, I knew better. I decided to try and track her down and corner her to get some answers out of her. I bid Chitose farewell and began making my way through the decks.

I figured I would make my way to the Galactic viewing park first and work my way down the ship. However, I didn't make it more than a dozen steps before the ships intercom came on and Almo's voice rang out.

"Demon of the west, your presence is respectfully requested on the bridge. I say again, Demon of the west…"

For a moment, I was dumbstruck wondering why I was being called to the bridge. Then it struck me within an instant, this was probably about that call I made to the Empress earlier. So, I decided to put finding Milfeulle on hold for the time being and quickly made my way to the bridge.

Once I stepped on the bridge, everyone turned to look at me. Lester and Tact were both by the central platform as I made my way towards them. Tact looked at me and said, "Hey Howard, we just got done talking to her majesty a few minutes ago. She asked why Milfeulle wasn't allowed in her old room…" I crossed my arms as I had a dark look on my face as he continued, "…We tried explaining to her that military personnel and civilians aren't allowed to live on the same deck. However, she made it…VERY clear that Milfeulle is to be the exception to that rule."

Lester then spoke up, "My lord, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. I was only following established protocol. I'll make sure that her room is properly cleaned and prepared for her."

I dropped my arms, put my hands on my hips and said, "I'm not going to hold it against you. I said I would address the issue, and I did. So, with any luck, we won't have another problem like this pop up. Thank you for the apology, Mr. Coolduras, I will be sure to relay it to Milfeulle. Now, was there anything else, or is that all?"

Upon being told that was all, I excused myself from the bridge and began to try and find Milfeulle's scent so I could get some answers. I began my hunt in the Galactic viewing park, to no avail unfortunately.

Making my way through the ship, I kept coming face to face with disappointment over and over again with each subsequent search. After about half an hour, I began to get thirsty. Seeing as I was right by the convenience store anyway, I figured I may as well grab a drink. I wonder if the shopkeeper is still scared of me…

I quietly walked into the convenience store and made my way over to the drinks. As I was overlooking the selection, I heard his voice call out with a ringing bell.

"Congratulations! You won the Jackpot!"

This caused me to whip my head around. Someone won the Jackpot? This I had to see. However, when I rounded the corner, I was shocked to see who was holding the little golden marble.

Milfeulle.

Did her luck come back? If that was the case, then maybe her luck wasn't actually gone. Which could also mean that she might be able to fly the Lucky Star again. However, I was snapped out of my thoughts as she saw me and said, "Ah, Howard! I just won first prize!"

I couldn't help but smile as I said, "Very well done my dear." Looking at the little golden ball brought back memories of the very first time I met her. Though, I was the one who won the Jackpot back then. Funny to see the tables turned. The shopkeeper looked at he and the color drained out of his face.

Yup, he was still terrified of me.

"M-my lord! Welcome to the shop! Ahem….the prize is two free tickets to Galactic land."

I had to restrain a scoff from escaping. Normally, that would be a great prize, especially for my dear Milfeulle. However, after the recent raider attack, that park is going to be closed for repairs for a very long time. So, sad to say, those tickets were worthless for the time being. However, it wasn't so much the prize that had my attention, but rather what caused it.

Milfeulle looked at me happily and said, "My luck is back!"

I couldn't help but be suspicious, something didn't quite feel right. However, I would worry about that later as I said, "That's great to hear. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am for you Milfeulle."

She smiled and said, "Yep! I'm happy that you're happy! It was worth buying all the lottery tries."

My expression went from one of joy to shock as soon as she said that.

"Hang on. A lot?"

She jumped a bit noticing her slip of the tongue as she said, "Ahh, um…it's nothing."

The clerk, on the other hand, began to say, "Well…..umm…"

I glared at him and said, "If you've got something to say, spit it out."

He jumped a bit as I snapped at him. Milfeulle lightly smacked my arm and said, "Howard, be nice. He didn't do anything wrong." She then leaned over to him and whispered, "Don't! Please keep it a secret!" I raised an eyebrow as I looked at the two. Clearly, she forgot about my enhanced senses, which included my hearing.

I looked at the clerk and said, "I can hear every word you're saying, what were you going to say?"

He stammered a bit more before he finally said, "She had to try 100 times before she won the prize."

This caused me to whistle in surprise. 100 times, that's a lot of money to spend trying to win a couple of tickets that, realistically, would have been cheaper to just buy outright. Though, it did confirm that her luck wasn't actually back. Though, I was a bit hurt at the idea that she would want to fake that.

I looked at her and said, "Did it seriously take you 100 tries to win?"

She dropped her head as she said, "Yes…I had to buy enough to get 100 tries. I spent all of my money from my job."

I lightly shook my head. Replacing that money was a simple task for me. Though, I was more interested in that lotto. I looked at the clerk and said, "What are the odds of winning the jackpot?"

The clerk straightened his glasses a bit as he replied, "A-about one…in a hundred, m-my lord."

So it was entirely probability, not luck. Though, that still raised the question of why she wanted me to think her luck was back.

I looked at her and asked, "Sweetheart, why did you say that your luck was back? Did you not think I would find out the truth?"

She lightly stammered before I then said, "Milfeulle, what's been up with you? You don't seem like your usual self."

She sadly looked away as she said, "Not like…my usual self…"

I then pleaded with her, "If there is something bothering you, please tell me. I will do whatever it takes to help you fix it."

She stood there for a moment before she said, "No, it's nothing." So there was something bothering her. "Anyway, I'm trying my best. Please just wait, Howard!"

With that she ran out of the store again. "Damn." I said, putting my hands on my hips. What is going on with her? Well, clearly I wasn't getting anywhere running after her all over the ship. I'll just have Tact page her to the bridge and borrow his office later to hash out the details.

Before I could do anything, however, the intercom came on and Almo's voice rang out again. "Demon of the West, your presence is respectfully requested in the hanger bay. I say again, Demon of the…"

The Hanger? What could I possibly be needed for in the hanger? I highly doubt anything needs to be pried open or moved with brute force. I sighed and proceeded to make my way to the hanger.

Upon entering the hanger, I walked by the emblem frames, reminiscing on the battles I've watched them fly. Granted, Ranpha's, Mint's and Vanilla's frames were all absent, but looking at the Happy Trigger and the Lucky star was enough for now. As I stood by the Lucky Star, Creta ran up to me and informed me about Milfeulle ordering her old frame to be prepped for combat and that she would be flying out with the next sortie.

…WHAT!?

It took a few minutes to figure out what had happened, but apparently Milfeulle came down here and ordered the Lucky Star to be prepped. The first question that popped into my mind was why nobody confirmed the order with any of the command staff. That, however, was quickly put to rest when I remembered this is Milfeulle we were talking about. She doesn't normally do impulsive things like this. Though, now it's getting out of hand. If she tried to fly out, she would be dead in a matter of minutes because she can't fly the Lucky star. That was the whole reason she resigned to begin with.

I thanked Creta for the heads up and made my way to the bridge. I don't know what the hell is going on, but I'm putting my boot down. I will not stand by while Milfeulle recklessly barrels around and burns herself out. I shuddered to think what would have happened to her if she actually flew out in the next battle.

I waited patiently in Tact's office filling him in on what had been going on, when Milfeulle came in the door. "You called for me Tact?"

As Tact bid her to come in, I stood waiting by the fish tank and watched her walk in. She apologized and took a seat. We waited in silence for about 30 seconds before she said, "So, what was it that you needed me for Tact? I want to try to do what I can."

Before I could speak up, Tact said, "Why did you ask to have your emblem frame prepared?"

She was caught off guard as she said, "Ah, that's…"

I then said, "Creta was worried about it and talked to me."

She only sat in silence as Tact then added, "Milfie, you don't need to fly an Emblem Frame anymore."

She perked up and replied, "It's not what I need…It's because I want to fight with everybody." Both Tact and I were surprised at that answer as Tact asked, "Fight? You want to go back to the Angel Wing?"

She sat up and continued, "Isn't everybody in trouble? Forte and Chitose had a hard time when they fought yesterday. Then Howard got hurt when he tried to help too…" I dropped my head a bit in shame. It was true that during yesterday's battle I had been injured, though I am pretty sure that was because I was emotionally unstable after blowing up at Chitose and now this mess with Milfeulle.

"…If I had been with them, then it wouldn't have been like that."

I sighed a bit as I said, "It's unfortunate, but I highly doubt the battle would have changed even if you had."

Tact then added, "You were able to handle the Lucky Star because of your luck. You know that, right?"

Milfeulle sadly answered, "…Yes."

Tact continued, "And your luck is gone now. In other words, you can't fly the Lucky Star anymore."

Milfeulle tried to defend herself, "T-that's…That might be true, but…"

Tact cut her off, "If you had sortied with them, you wouldn't have been able to do anything. You would have just been attacked. I am the Commander of the Elsior, and I will not allow you to fight with them. No matter what."

As much as it tore me apart inside hearing him address her like that, I was forced to remain silent because he had a very valid point. Though, I had a very strong feeling that this was going to really break her spirits.

I could see the tears welling up in her eyes as he said, "Understand?"

She tried to respond, but her voice cracked twice before she excused herself and ran out. Tact sighed a bit as he said, "Maybe I was too harsh…" I sighed as well and said, "As much as I hated hearing that, unfortunately it had to be said. I love her too much to let her hurt herself. You were well within your rights to put your foot down since she technically isn't a pilot anymore. I'm more worried that this might cause her to become more reckless."

Tact shook his head and said, "We'll do our best to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't do anything to put herself in danger. Why don't you take some time and rest. You look beat."

Funny enough, I was feeling pretty worn down. Though whether that was due to chasing Milfeulle all over the ship or because I was mentally exhausted from trying to figure out what she was up to, I couldn't tell you.

Taking his advice, I returned to my room and proceeded to get some rest.

Or so I thought.

I awoke with a start. I looked around and immediately noticed I wasn't in my room anymore. Where I was at I couldn't tell. I got up and began to walk around. As I walked forward, I was enveloped in a sudden blinding flash of light. When the light subsided, I was on the bridge of a ship. I tried to make sense of what I was looking at, but I didn't recognize anything.

Then I heard a voice.

"In accordance with General order 9411, you are to be deployed to Eden, where you will destroy the planetary defense system ahead of the arrival of the main fleet. Confirm order."

It was Nefuria's voice. My skin began to crawl as I listened to her, but I couldn't make out where she was, nor who she was speaking to. As soon as she finished though, there was a response. It was muffled, but I could make out the words.

"Order confirmed."

I could hear footsteps, but I still couldn't figure out where they were coming from. The acoustics in here were either extremely good, or there was something really weird going on. Going to Eden? Wasn't that planet destroyed centuries ago from a natural disaster? What was it called again…

As I was trying to think, I was enveloped in a shroud of darkness, leaving me paralyzed before I emerged. When the darkness cleared, I was on solid ground, but everything around me was in flames. The skies were a bright orange, forests burned, buildings fell, and bodies of countless souls were strewn across the ground. I was getting a serious sense of déjà vu looking at all of this, but I've never been on any battleground like this.

As I tore through my memories, trying to think if there were any battles during the schism wars that were like this, I was caught by surprise as several capital ships dropped out of orbit and began bombarding the surface. Cries and screams of fear and agony resonated through the air, forcing me to cover my ears. As I looked up, I saw a silhouette in the smoke ahead of me. I forced myself to my feet and tried to get closer to see who it was. But, as the smoke cleared…

I shot up with a start, panting as I looked around. I was in my room on board the Elsior. What the hell was that? Did I have a nightmare? I don't usually have nightmares, let alone ones that leave me in a cold sweat and out of breath. Could it be a side effect of that backlash I had a couple of days ago? I got up out of bed and went to take a shower. What did I just see? And why was Nefuria there? That woman gave me a bad feeling during the battle a few days ago, but something about her was off.

Whatever it was, I have a thousand new questions with no answers.

After I finished my shower and got dressed and suited up, I made my way to the mess decks to get a bit of breakfast. There were a few crew members there, but it was fairly quiet. I decided to get a ham and cheese omelet with some mushrooms and a large cup of coffee and a large cup of orange juice.

Sitting down, I began to eat my omelet, which brought back memories of the first time I tried some of Milfeulle's cooking. Funny enough, she had made omelets and a few other things for that picnic. This one wasn't nearly as good as hers, but it still did the job of satisfying my hunger for the time being.

Before I was finished with my food, Forte and Chitose came onto the mess decks. They got their own food and asked to sit with me, to which I extended my hand to offer them a seat. As I took a sip of my coffee, Forte looked at me and said, "Funny seeing you hear, you don't normally eat during prime meal hours. Something up?"

I sighed and looked into my coffee as I said, "You know, funny you ask. I had a very…disturbing night last night."

I proceeded to fill them in on my nightmare, or as much of it as I could remember since it began to fade away. Once I finished, Chitose had a hand under her chin in thought as Forte said, "Hmm, definitely sounds like a war memory. But you said you can't remember any battles that were like that, right?"

I nodded as I said, "In all honesty, I don't know what I saw. Between the fact Nefuria was there, the mention of Eden, and the carnage that was strewn, it's almost as if I were looking into her mind. But that can't be it because I'm not telepathic, trust me, Mint definitely wouldn't leave me alone if I was. It's…confusing."

Chitose then spoke up, "Have you had a chance to talk to Ms. Milfie about this yet?"

I shook my head and said, "No, I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon in Tact's office. After our discussion, she ran out and I haven't seen her since. Though, I don't want to worry her. There isn't really anything she can do to help."

Chitose lowered her head a bit as II finished drinking my coffee. Forte then said, "Is it possible that it's a side effect of what happened to you a couple of days ago?"

As I lifted my cup of orange juice, I replied, "You know, I had the exact same thought. Though, I don't see how. The images weren't from my memories. I've never been on any battlefields that hellish looking."

I began to sip on my orange juice, when my demonic aura shifted uneasily and caught my attention. Something was wrong. I quickly finished my drink and said, "Excuse me ladies, I need to check something out." I stood up, and as soon as I put my tray back in the cafeteria dish drop, Almo's voice rang out.

"Angel Wing, report to the hanger to deploy. I say again, Angel wing…"

I looked at the girls, who nodded to me and shot up as I made my way to the bridge.

Upon entering the bridge, Tact and Lester both looked at me inn surprise. Lester spoke up first and said, "My lord, is there something you need?"

I looked at him and said, "I felt something shift my demonic aura, is there anything out there?"

Lester looked at Coco as she said, "There are several unidentified objects ahead of us that are metallic." I walked to her station and asked, "Debris?" She shook her head as she said, "We're not sure; we're still too far away. However, no movement has been detected."

I looked at the readings before Tact said, "Send the Angel wing out to scout it out. Also, get Forte on the line." Almo rogered up and attempted to contact Forte, only to be met with static.

I raised an eyebrow as she said, "The interference is getting worse, unable to establish contact with either of the Emblem frames."

I walked over to her station as Lester said, "Well Tact, should we put someone on a shuttle and go check it out?" I looked over at them and said, "Yeah, I can go take a look. Been getting bored walking around doing nothing anyway."

As I made my way back towards them, Coco yelped out, causing all of us to look at her as Lester said, "What's wrong, Coco?"

She quickly answered, "The Hanger bay doors are opening. This ship signal…" She pressed a couple of buttons before finishing, "…the Lucky Star!?"

I immediately shouted, "WHAT!?"

She then said, "The Lucky Star has launched!"

Great, like my day wasn't already off to a winning start. What the hell is going on here?

Within seconds, Creta called up to the bridge and said, "We have trouble! Milfeulle just left in the Lucky Star!"

I growled a bit as I replied, "Yeah, we noticed, where the hell were you at to stop her!?" I then looked at Tact before continuing, "You told me that you'd keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't do anything reckless. How the hell did she manage to get out there!?" The amount of rage in my system was boiling my blood, but I quickly reeled it in before saying, "I'm going after her, once I'm back, we're going to have a long talk about hanger security."

As I made a move for the door, the proximity alarms went off as Coco called out, "Movement confirmed on the unknown objects! Number of thrusters shape is being extrapolated from movement…" After a few moments, she finished, "Results confirmed. It's an enemy attack satellite!" Great, like we didn't have enough problems to deal with. I looked at Tact and said, "Call Creta and have a shuttle prepped for me. Keep trying to raise Forte or Chitose. I'm going to drag Milfeulle back to the hanger." I stormed off the bridge as I could hear a faint whisper.

' _Be careful, something is off.'_

Once I was clear from the hanger bay, I punched the shuttles engines and barreled towards the Lucky Star. Each successive time I tried to establish comms with Milfeulle, the more and more I was met with static. Eventually, I decided to make direct contact by linking the hulls that was the only sure way to get through.

It took a couple of minutes and a bit of careful maneuvering, but I linked the hulls and established contact. I tried to tell her to come back, but she insisted on trying to help. Then she poured her heart out. She explained how she wanted to doing a lot of things with me, to spend every day with me, to hear me tell her I love her. But that the war took me away from her and that she wanted to bring peace back.

I was completely floored.

You would think after all these centuries of dealing with people I'd be able to read something like this by now. I couldn't help but feel horrible. She felt neglected and it was my fault.

I apologized to her and told her that I will make sure we spend every day together, and that I was truly sorry. Words couldn't properly express how much I care for her, but I told her that I loved her, to which, she requited the love in kind.

Naturally, as soon as we got that settled, Lester's voice suddenly came through, "Hey! Can you hear me!? My lord, respond!"

I rolled my eyes as I said, "Oh NOW the comms systems work. I just got out here, what's going on?"

He quickly said, "The attack satellite just launched several volleys of missiles! Get out of there!"

I looked at my radar, and sure enough, a wall of missiles were incoming. I quickly switched my comm channel over and said, "Milfeulle, get out of here, I'll cover you!"

Instead, she stayed in place. Over the channel, she said, "It's okay, Howard." I raised an eyebrow as she continued, "Right now, I feel like warm strength is surging through me." As I looked over at the Lucky Star, it's hull began to glow. Within seconds, I could see something at the sides of the hulls, it looked like something was rippling the space by the hull. Then, what I saw completely caught me by surprise.

Wings erupted from the sides of the Lucky Star.

As the missiles closed in and hit their target, several explosions enveloped the Lucky Star. The shockwaves were causing my shuttle to shake while the blast blinded me for a moment. But when the smoke cleared, the Lucky Star was perfectly fine. Looking at the frame, the main cannon began to glow, causing me to smile.

She was back.

The cannon fired off, sweeping through the volleys of missiles as she flew through space, clearing a path towards the attack satellite. Forte and Chitose both flew past me as they established comms. Within a minute after getting everything sorted out, I gave them the green light to engage the satellite. When Milfeulle asked to go as well, I chuckled and said, "You don't need my permission at this point. Go get 'em, Tiger."

With that, I turned the shuttle around and flew back to the Elsior while the girls took care of the enemy satellite and its escorts. Once I docked the shuttle, I apologized to Creta for snapping at her earlier. She accepted my apology and with that, I made my way back to the bridge.

Walking back onto the bridge, I couldn't help but smile as I looked at everyone, shrugged my shoulders and said two words.

"She's back!"

 _ **A/N: Hello everyone! I apologize for the delay once again. After I moved out here to Japan, I had the worst time getting settled, then a nasty case of writers block to go with it. Took me a while, but I managed to figure out where I was going again, so chapters should be coming a bit more regularly for a while.**_

 _ **Howard: While I'm not excited for what he has in mind, I sincerely hope this chapter has been worth the wait for you readers!**_

 _ **Thank you again for your patience, please like and review and we'll see you in the next chapter!**_


	5. Chapter 5: What Dwells in the Shadows

_**Chapter 5: What Dwells in the Shadows**_

After the battle ended, I made my way to the hanger with Tact. I couldn't begin to express how happy I am that Milfeulle's luck is back and that she can fly again. Upon entering the hanger, Tact welcomed the girls back. As they talked about how well the battle went, Milfeulle ran up to us. I walked towards her and caught her as she threw herself into a hug with me.

After I spun her around once, laughing, she excitedly said, "I did my best! Isn't it great I can fly again?"

I chuckled as I set her down and said, "It was absolutely breathtaking watching you fly again, my beloved angel of luck! Welcome back!" I pulled her into a hug as Creta came up to us and added, "It is still surprising for the Lucky Star to suddenly become active."

As everyone conversed as to why the Lucky Star became active again, I looked over at the frame with a silent smile. I'm not sure why, but I think there's more to the emblem frames than people give credit for. Regardless, the Lucky Star brought Milfeulle back to me safely, so for that, I was grateful.

When it was brought up that she can rejoin the Angel wing, that snapped me out of my thoughts as I said, "Oh, by the way…" Everyone looked at me as I continued, "After speaking with the Empress about the little technicality that Milfeulle couldn't stay in her room. I am proud to say, that she is the exception to the rule. Though, from the look of it, it looks like my intervention wasn't necessary. So, you're able to move back into your old room regardless of circumstance now."

As everyone welcomed Milfeulle back into the Angel wing, it was suggested to throw her a welcome back party. Personally, I was all for it. Though, something was still off. Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond happy to have Milfeulle's luck back. Though, I can't ignore the message my subconscious sent out before I went to go get her. I'm pretty sure it wasn't referring to her luck coming back.

Once everyone went their separate ways to start getting ready for the party, I was left to my thoughts. Milfeulle went with Chitose to make a cake for the party. I couldn't help but smile.

Now that was the girl I fell in love with.

I decided to see if I could try and figure out more about what that nightmare was about. I made my way to my quarters and began digging through the database on every battle I had been involved with during the Schism wars. Despite how long the wars had dragged for, which was over three decades, the records were relatively short since I was only involved in the final six months of the wars.

What can I say? I'm good at what I do.

After pouring over every detail and reliving every single battle, none of them looked remotely like what I had dreamed. That eliminates that possibility. The only other possibility I can think of is maybe when Nefuria was pushing and pulling on my demonic aura during our last encounter, a bond was formed. Albeit an unintentional one, but it would make sense as to why she was present in my dream.

Could it have been a memory that she lived? No, that didn't make a lot of sense either. Humans aren't as long lived as I am. So if not that, then what? There's something I'm missing here.

Unfortunately, I glanced at the clock and realized I'd spent almost 3 hours poring over this and made myself late to Milfeulle's welcome back party. I immediately closed the files and used my demonic speed to blaze through the ship and get to the mess decks, where I arrived as Tact was calling a toast to welcoming her back.

Milfeulle glanced over to the entrance and saw me walk in as she exclaimed, "Howard! I was worried you wouldn't make it."

I walked over as everyone turned to look at me and said, "Sorry for being late, got caught up in some research and lost track of time. Don't stop on my account." I quickly scooped up an extra drink and raised it with everyone else as everyone said, "Cheers!"

As they began to ask how it felt to be back, I walked over and took a seat next to her as she started expressing how happy she was to be back. Somehow, it ended up shifting from her being back to the cake she was baking that Chitose was watching in the kitchen. When Milfeulle said that she was really interested in how it bakes in the oven; that made me raise an eyebrow and look toward the kitchen.

' _Who watches a cake bake in an oven?'_

After everyone had Milfeulle toss a bunch of coins to demonstrate her luck was back, she went to go check on the cake. I smiled a bit as I looked to Dr. Cera, who looked to me and said, "Are you alright, my lord? You're very quiet given the occasion."

Before I could answer her, I felt a significant shift in my demonic aura. I shot my head towards the kitchen; where the shift was originating from, and it didn't take me long to figure out why.

Almost immediately upon looking at the kitchen, there was a loud explosion, causing everyone to look at the kitchen. I leapt out of my chair and was at the archway leading into the kitchen before anyone could blink.

Inside, it was a disaster zone. The cake had exploded, leaving both Milfeulle and Chitose covered in icing as the cake sat smoking in the oven. Milfeulle began to cry exclaiming her cake was ruined. As Chitose tried a bit of the icing, Milfeulle began to apologize for her luck. I walked over to her, using my power to clear a path through the iced up floor so as not to get any of the cake stuck on my pelt, knelt down, and held hands and said, "Hey, it's okay, my dear Milfeulle." I carefully wiped away one of her tears as I said, "You can always make another one. If anything, it looks like Chitose is enjoying your cooking."

As I added a smile and started to calm her down, Forte said, "Sheesh. Well, I guess your bad luck's back too." Creta then added, "Oh yeah, Milfie's luck had its down side too." I immediately glared and growled at the both of them, causing them to stop talking as I looked back at Milfeulle and said, "Ignore them, are you okay?"

She glumly nodded as Coco and Almo came in and helped clean all the icing off of the two girls.

After about 15 minutes, we managed to get the kitchen mostly cleaned up. As the last of it was being cleaned up, I walked over to Milfeulle and knelt down next to her and held her hand, making her smile.

Of course, we couldn't have a nice moment without someone opening their mouth.

"Sheesh. As soon as her luck comes back, it causes chaos."

I immediate stood up and waved a finger towards Forte as I said, "That's ENOUGH! I will not hesitate to come over there and…"

Before I could finish, Milfeulle grabbed my hand and said, "Its ok, Howard. My luck did cause..." I cut her off as I said, "No, it's not. Milfeulle, I love you too much to let anyone talk badly about you, especially about your luck." She smiled a bit as she squeezed my hand while Creta said, "It's okay though, right? It's exciting and never boring."

As the conversation shifted and began to take a more positive note, I looked at Milfeulle and said, "Hey, after we're done here, I need to talk to you about something that came up last night." She smiled and nodded before Chitose expressed her disappointment at not being able to try the cake. Milfeulle was quick to promise to bake another one.

As I smiled and watched the two continue to chat, Chitose announced that she would take Milfeulle as her instructor. Tact then said, "No, I think this might be best to head this off now." I couldn't help but laugh a bit as Milfeulle pouted and stated they would be the best instructor-pupil duo in space. As much as I love her, I'm not sure that would be a very good idea myself. But, then again, who knows, maybe they would be a good fit together.

Enter Kuromie. As everyone welcomed him into the party, he notified us that he was late due to his surprise that the kafukafu tree has begun to bud. Naturally, this caught all of us by surprise since it was supposed to only blossom once every century, and it just blossomed six months ago.

I looked at him and said, "You know, I think I know why that tree is blooming again." Everyone looked to me as I looked to Milfeulle, whose hand I gently held as I finished, "Remember when you prayed for everyone's safety a few days ago? I think the tree accepted your wish, and combined with your luck, began to blossom as a result."

Milfeulle's expression dipped as she said, "But…I forgot about you…"

I rolled my eyes as I shifted towards her and said, "As I recall, you said you prayed for the safety of everybody on the Elsior. So, clearly, I'm included in that particular request, right?" This perked up her spirits as she realized what I was implying.

I gently kissed her hand and winked at her as Creta said, "Wow, you two, so hot!" Almo then chimed in, "Gee! Show off already! Aww, it's so nice." I threw them a sarcastic look as Milfeulle became embarrassed by the teasing. Unfortunately, Dr. Cera and Forte then added into it, saying that we're going to be teased no matter what after this.

Before I could put this mess down, Chitose chimed in saying that she was moved by our love and she was going to write about it in her diary. Both Milfeulle and I looked at her in surprise and shock as everyone started laughing at us. This only caused me to drop my head in shame.

About an hour later after the party ended, Milfeulle and I were in my room. I sat her down on my bed as she said, "Okay Howard, what was it you wanted to talk about?" She looked at me with a smile as I looked at her and said, "So, I had something happen to me last night that I've never had happen before."

Milfeulle shifted a bit uneasily on my bed as she said, "What was it?"

I sighed a bit as I started pacing a bit in front of her and explained the nightmare that I had in as much detail as I could remember. Once I finished, she stood up and hugged me as she said, "It's alright, it was only a nightmare. I have them every now and again too." I held her as I quickly rebutted, "That's just it; I don't think this just a nightmare. I'm getting a very bad sense of déjà vu with it, like it's more than just a nightmare. More like…I don't know, a memory maybe? I can't make sense of it right now, and the fact that Nefuria was able to actually manipulate my aura from as far away as she was has me worried what she's hiding."

Milfeulle placed a hand on my cheek as she said, "No matter what, I'll keep you safe, my beloved demon." I nuzzled lightly into her cheek as I smiled and said, "I know, my dear angel. Hopefully, it isn't anything and I'm just overthinking things." She smiled at me as the intercom came on and Almo's voice rang out.

"Angel wing, Demon of the West, your presence is requested on the bridge. I say again…"

Both Milfeulle and I left my room and made our way to the bridge, where everyone else was already waiting for us.

Milfeulle asked Tact what was up, which was my same question, and he explained that Chitose had finished deciphering the message we received and he wanted everyone on the bridge to hear it. As I looked to Chitose, Tact told her to play back the message, which said:

" _ **Children of Eden. Now, a great calamity returns from beyond time. Hurry to me. White moon. Now is the time to bind the finite and infinite as one, and fulfill your ancient mission. White Moon. Children of Eden. Hurry. We have little time left. You must fulfill your mission. Before the world is engulfed in calamity."**_

I placed a hand under my chin as everyone discussed what the warning could have meant. There was mention of the Children of Eden. I couldn't help but think about my dream again. Part of my dream made mention of someone being deployed to Eden. Could it possibly be that I glanced at what the great calamity was all those years ago and that's what my subconscious was trying to warn me about? And what did the White moon have to do with it?

The more and more I thought about it, while some pieces clicked into place, more questions arose. In the end, I had more questions than I started out with, which was aggravating in its own right.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Chitose if the great calamity might be referring to Rezom's fleet. I decided to speak up at this point as I said, "Doubtful. He's only been a problem for not even a year. The message refers to it as from beyond time. So, whatever it is, it posed a threat to whatever the source of that message is before, most likely before even my time."

As Forte came up with the idea that the enemy we were chasing generated that, I shook my head and said, "While in a normal circumstance, that would be true, in this particular case, I don't think so. Rezom was more focused on his idea of what Eonia wanted as opposed to anything to do with Eden. No, I think whoever sent it is desperate and trying to get anyone to hear them."

As the discussion continued, I could faintly hear my sub-conscious whisper, _'Be alert. There is more at work than meets the eye.'_

Now what could it mean by that?

As we completed drive out, Tact came up an idea. He asked Almo to open a channel with Luft, which made me raise an eyebrow. When he told Almo to not encode the channel, Chitose immediately spoke up, "Tact, this is a violation of protocol! In war, all communications must be encrypted!"

I glared at her and said, "What did I tell you about that, Chitose?" She quickly apologized, and Tact continued with his plan, sending a message to Luft and filling him in on what was going on with the raider fleet, as well as letting us know that we won't be getting back up. As Tact was telling him the frames were at half efficiency.

Before Chitose could correct him, I quickly placed my hand over her mouth and told her to stay silent. As they continued to speak, the conversation delved into a game that Tact played at the academy. Once he made mention of formations, Luft clicked in on what was going on. I lowered my hand and gestured for Chitose to stay quiet as they continued to talk. I knew exactly what was going on.

Tact was laying a trap.

Once they ended the conversation and closed the channel, I couldn't help but smile at how slick Tact was with that move. The bait was set, the line was tied.

All that was left for the enemy to bite.

As the girls asked what he was talking about, Tact went ahead and filled them in on what he was talking about and what he had planned. I couldn't help but smirk as he dismissed everyone and ordered everyone to get some rest since tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

Walking back to my room with Milfeulle, I held her hand the whole way. Part of me was feeling confident about tomorrow. Another part of me, however, was worried if I would have another nightmare again when I went to bed. I looked at Milfeulle as we reached her room and smiled as she said, "If you need anything, I'll be there in a heartbeat. Good night my cute demon." I chuckled as I bid her good night and returned to my room to head to bed myself.

I awoke with a start. I was back on a ship, it wasn't the Elsior, so almost immediately, I knew this was another nightmare. I made my way through the door in front of me and found myself in a huge laboratory. There were dozens of machines, tanks and equipment all around the lab, and at the center were several people in lab coats, scientists or doctors if I had to place a guess.

I quietly stood behind a large tank filled with dark liquid as one of the scientists looked up towards a large windowed balcony and said, "Subject 386 is showing no signs of rejection to the implantation of RNA sequences 16 through 42. Preliminary tests have shown subject has demonstrated the use of new abilities, further enhancing his combat effectiveness by well over 2000% of original calculations. In combination with the previously noted abilities, subject will be ready for field deployment within two weeks upon completion of indoctrination protocols to ensure total compliance and obedience."

As I tried to get a look at who they were talking about, the voice of a gruff male came on as he said, "Very well. Once your work is complete, he is to be placed under Nefuria's control. Ensure there are no complications like last time Doctor, or it will be you we feed to him next." The scientist bowed and replied, "It will be done, your highness." As the scientists started to move around, the image swirled into darkness, engulfing me and leaving me floating helpless in the darkness.

Once I felt my feet land on solid ground, I was immediately filled with dread. I looked around, and I saw Milfeulle standing to my right. Before I could call out to her, she was jumped by a large animal that clamped its jaws around her torso, causing her to cry out before she fell limp. I was horrified. The love of my life was just killed in cold blood right in front of me. I felt anger and when I lifted my hands, my claws were gone. I looked at myself and saw that I was human again with no armor or weapons.

The animal dropped her as it stepped over her and moved towards me. As it emerged from the shadows, it revealed itself as a large white dog. It looked exactly like my demon form. I glared at it, rage boiling my blood, but as the dog bared its teeth at me, my rage vanished immediately and was replaced by something I haven't truly felt in centuries.

Fear.

The dog roared out and lunged at me and pinned me to the ground, the weight from its paws crushing my arms and causing me to cry out in pain. The dog growled at me, bearing it's fangs before it snapped at my head for the kill.

I roared out, shoot out of my bed and hit the floor with a resounding thud as I scrambled to sit up. My heart was pounding, I was covered in sweat, and I was shaking. Whether it was fear or anger that had me shaking was anyone's guess, but that nightmare was worse than the last one. And on top of that, it left me with more questions than answers.

Before I could pull myself together, my door opened and Milfeulle ran in wearing her nightgown, and found me on the floor a complete mess. She ran over to me, grabbing my shaking hands as I struggled to catch my breath. She pulled me to her chest and hugged me, placing a hand behind my head as she tried to calm me down. Within a few minutes, I managed to collect my nerves and stopped shaking as she said, "It's okay, my beloved demon, I'm right here. It was only a bad dream, it's over, it can't hurt you now."

Once I caught my breath, I pulled away from her and said, "How did you know?"

She placed a hand on my cheek and said, "I heard you roar from down the hall. I knew immediately that something was wrong."

I sighed as I looked at the clock and saw it had only been 3 and a half hours. I groaned and said, "I am so sorry for waking you up."

She quickly scooted forward and said, "Hey, it's okay, you're more important to me than a few hours of sleep. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

I nodded and went ahead and told her what I saw, including watching her die in the jaws of my demon form. It took about 10 minutes to explain everything, which left her a little unsettled, but at the end of it, she smiled and said, "I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me."

While I couldn't bring myself to answer her, I couldn't help but think what if it was a glimpse of what was to come.

Seeing my discomfort, she pulled me into a hug and said, "It's okay. Would it help if I stayed with you for the rest of the night?" I looked at her and said, "I don't want to impose, especially if I have another nightmare and I accidentally hurt you. I would never forgive myself if that happened." She simply smiled at me, went over, closed the door and said, "Come on you, let's get you back to bed. I'll stay right here to make sure those bad dreams don't hurt you anymore."

About 6 hours later, I woke up, thankfully, without incident this time, and I found Milfeulle nuzzled up against me in my bed. I let out a quiet sigh of relief knowing that I didn't hurt her. I couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked as she quietly snored with her arm draped over me. I decided to enjoy this feeling for a little longer.

Laying with Milfeulle beside me, I began to think about that dream. What was subject 386? What abilities was that scientist talking about? Who were those scientists? And what was the deal with Nefuria being mentioned again? And then to top it off, what was up with my demon form being separate from me? There were entirely too many questions, and now I'm even further from figuring out what was going on compared to before when I actually was starting to piece it together.

After another half an hour, Milfeulle woke up and looked up at me as she tightened her grip around me as she said, "Good morning handsome. Did you sleep better?" I smiled as I said, "Funny enough, yes. Though, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting you to crawl into my bed with me." She giggled a bit as she said, "Well, I got a little sleepy watching you sleep, and your bed looked really comfy, so I didn't think you'd mind."

Within ten minutes, we both got up and she left my room to go to her room down the hall and get dressed. I took a much needed shower to calm my nerves, then proceeded to get dressed, don my armor, and made my way to the bridge.

Upon entering the bridge, Coco called out a reaction on long range radar. It was the enemy fleet. I looked at Tact and said, "Looks like they took the bait." As Tact made the call to wait for the rest of the Angel wing to arrive, I felt my demonic aura shift. It wasn't the same as the last few times, this was a deliberate tugging. A sense of dread ran down my spine as I looked in the direction it was coming from. Tact looked at me and asked, "Is there something wrong, Howard?" Without turning to look at him, I said, "We have a big problem."

Before he could ask what, the proximity alarms went off as Coco called out another enemy fleet moving out from the shadow of the planet. Within a minute, we were surrounded, and that insistent pulling on my aura was getting stronger. Almo then called out a hail from the enemy, which she patched through, causing a shiver to run down my spine as Nefuria's picture came up in front of us.

"I thought you showed some intelligence. How disappointing." The whole time, she was staring at me as I glared back at her.

Tact looked at her and asked, "What's this sudden greeting? Aren't you Nefuria? Rezom's assistant?"

Without breaking her stare with me, she replied, "Yes, Nefuria. You seem to have remembered. Well done."

Tact thanked her before she continued, "And you did not have a poor plan. Leak information deliberately and then attempt to catch us in a trap…However, you are still naïve." I could feel her pulling on my demonic aura even harder than before. I don't know what it was, but I felt like she was trying to worm her way into my head.

As Tact continued to converse with her, she continued to stare at me, and I at her. Within the confines of a few minutes, the look on her face was sincere intent. She was trying to figure something out, but what? Once she notified Rezom of our position, she turned her attention back to us.

The next thing we knew both fleets were moving in on us. Tact was fairly calm about the situation, and as I was about to create a barrier around the Elsior, Coco called out more contacts.

It was the rest of the Angel Wing.

Just in time too. I was a bit worried they'd miss out on all the fun. Of course, when Nefuria realized what his actual trap was, she was oddly…pleased. After she closed the channel, Tact ordered the reunited angel wing to engage both fleets.

As the battle raged on, I couldn't help but feel like there was something wrong. Rezom got overzealous and moved ahead of his main force, which was expected of him. But the forces that were coming towards us were oddly…thin. For as big of a force as all the reports have been saying he has, where the hell was it at?

The battle didn't last very long. The angel wing made extremely short work of the fleet and Rezom's flagship. Before they retreated, Nefuria opened a channel with us again.

"This trap was well laid; I applaud you for your cunning this time. However…"

Her gaze turned to me as every fiber of my being began screaming to run. I was never one to run from a good fight, and what was causing this reaction now, I have no idea. Nefuria then continued, "…your instincts will only serve you in resisting general order 27 for so long."

While everyone tried to figure out what she meant, I felt something snap in my head, and I stood with my feet shoulder width apart and my hands behind my back locking my gaze with hers.

I don't know what she just did, but I did not shift my stance voluntarily.

She then added, "Have fun while you can before you feel the wrath of general order 575." The channel closed, leaving everyone confused.

With that, I started walking off the bridge without another word.

I lost complete control and became a prisoner within my own body.

 _ **A/N: Quick disclaimer, I do not own the Galaxy Angel series, or the character Inu-no-Taisho, which my OC is based from.**_

 _ **Howard: What the hell did you do to me?**_

 _ **You'll see soon enough, because we're only getting started.**_

 _ **Howard: You're a real bas…**_

 _ **I know, anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please be sure to leave a review, and we'll see you in the next chapter!**_


	6. Chapter 6: Downward Spiral into Chaos

_**Chapter 6: Downward Spiral into Chaos**_

As I traversed through the ship, I was internally screaming. Every ounce of effort I put into trying to stop my body was met with failure. I couldn't even cause a twitch. I could only helplessly watch what my body was about to do. Within the minute of my struggle, I was met with a familiar voice.

"Welcome back. Safe to say you already have an idea of what's going on."

My subconscious spoke clear as day, but I couldn't properly respond due to my current situation. Of course, no sooner did I think that, I dropped and landed in the same misted place I landed last time as he walked towards me and said, "Yeah, I have no clue what the hell happened either."

Helping me to my feet, he continued, "As soon as she started talking about general orders, every fiber of our body completely locked up. It was almost like watching somebody flip a switch for a piece of machinery." I looked at him, or myself, and asked, "Is there any danger to the people on the Elsior?"

He grimly looked at me and said, "At this point, I think it's safe to say that is a definite yes. The sooner I find out where these general orders are embedded in here, the sooner we can take back control."

I put my hands on my hips and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

He walked over towards a column of smoke as he said, "As much as you're not going to like it, keep an eye on what's going on out there. If there's anything that causes the least amount of hesitation, I need to know."

I nodded and with that, regained my sight as I realized I had entered the lounge and was silently observing the Angel wing and Tact conversing amongst themselves. While I was sipping on a milk tea, Milfeulle came over and sat next to me as she smiled and said, "Hey Howard, how are you feeling?"

I tried to call out to her, but instead, what left my mouth was, "Fit for duty." This caused her to tilt her head in confusion as she said, "Umm, are you okay? You seem a bit irritated." I watched as my body replied with, "There is nothing that is cause for concern." As her expression dipped, she said, "Okay, if…if you want to talk, I'm here, okay?" All I did was flex my eyebrows as I took another drink and Milfeulle sadly rejoined the rest of the Angel wing.

I don't know what was going on, but I need to find out what that general order 575 was. After about a minute, Mint came over and said, "You seem rather quiet today. I would have thought you'd be pleased to see all of us again. It's been months since we've seen you."

I simply shook my head and responded, "Your point?" This caused Mint to visibly flinch as she said, "Are you okay? Your thoughts are…" I mentally screamed as loud as I could for her to hear me.

' _MINT! HELP! I CAN'T MOVE!'_

A look of concern eclipsed her face shortly before my gaze turned to her. Within the moment of locking eyes with her, I felt a pulse resonate through my head. As soon as I felt that pulse, I heard Mint cry out in pain and hold her head, causing everyone to look at me as I said, "Stay out of my head. That's your only warning. Next time will be far worse." With that, I got up, dropped the rest of the milk tea in the waste bin, and left the lounge.

 _ ***Tact's POV***_

As I watched Howard leave the lounge, I went over to Mint and said, "Hey Mint, are you alright? What happened?"

Mint regained her composure as she said, "I'm okay. I only said that he was oddly quiet for not having seen us after so long. But when I read his thoughts, I could hear him screaming for help, it was almost deafening. Then he looked at me and I had the worst spike of pain shoot through my head. It was like he felt me looking into his thoughts and kicked me out."

I raised my eyebrows as Forte said, "Screaming for help? Were you able to hear what he said before he left?"

She nodded her head and said, "Yes, he said my name, cried out for help, and said he couldn't move."

All of us were a bit perplexed as Ranpha said, "Well clearly he can move, because he literally just walked out of here."

I walked over to the waste bin and looked at the milk tea he threw out, it was still fairly hot and more than half full. He doesn't usually throw out drinks without finishing them. Did Nefuria really bother him that much?

Forte looked at Milfeulle and said, "Hey Milfie, did he talk to you about the nightmare he had the other night?"

She nodded and said, "Yeah, he had another one last night. That one was a lot more…scary." Everyone looked at her and Forte asked, "Another one? What was it?"

After spending about 10 minutes explaining the whole thing to everyone, I placed a hand under my chin in thought. A laboratory, an experiment, Nefuria, and his demon form. From the sound of it, it's way too specific to be a random nightmare. Could he have established a telepathic link with Nefuria during that last battle? She was oddly fixated with him the entire time we spoke. Maybe she's controlling him with some new weapon that we don't know about.

Vanilla spoke up first once Milfeulle finished, "Nightmares can be a symptom of extreme stress. Perhaps he should come to medical and allow myself and Dr. Cera to give him an evaluation."

Ranpha shrugged as she said, "Well, maybe me knocking some sense into him will help snap him out of it."

Milfeulle quickly interjected, "Ranpha, you haven't won a single fight against him, and he has strength and speed that nobody else has. I don't want you to get hurt over a misunderstanding. He was pretty upset from that nightmare last night. Maybe it's just bothering him and he needs time to sort it out."

Mint shook her head as she said, "I don't know. His body language said one thing, but his thoughts completely contradicted it with another. Maybe someone should try asking him about it."

Milfeulle sighed sadly as she said, "I tried to talk to him and he practically pushed me away."

Ranpha stood up and said, "Leave it to me! I'll get to the bottom of this!" With that, she walked out as I said, "I have a very bad feeling about this girls."

 _ ***Main POV***_

As I walked into the gym, I couldn't help but wonder what brought me here. I looked around the gym as if I was trying to find something. Within a few minutes, I could hear the clacking of Ranpha's heels as she walked into the gym and called out to me, "Oi, Howard! Are you alright? You left the lounge in a hurry and everyone is worried."

I didn't stop to look at her as I struggled to try and regain some form of control. I was getting a very bad feeling and I did not want to see what was causing it. However, Ranpha walked over as she said, "Hey, Howard! I'm talking to you, the least you could do is answer me…" She pushed on my left pauldron, and almost instantly, I swung my left arm out, hitting her in the torso, and sending her flying across the room into the weight racks and a couple of elliptical machines. As she coughed to catch her breath, I continued to look around, still trying to find whatever it was I was looking for.

In a split second, I swatted my left arm out, knocking a 50lb weight out of the air and sending it into the bulkhead as Ranpha stood standing by the weights, extremely pissed. "What the hell is wrong with you? I'm only asking if you're alright and you have the gall to hit me!? Oh, you're in for it now buster!"

As she ran towards me, I turned towards her and raised my claws. I was screaming and fighting to stop what was about to happen, but to no avail. Ranpha threw out a kick, and before it could connect, I swung my claws around, sending out an energy whip that hit her across her chest and sent her flying into the bulkhead, causing the panel to crumple from the impact as she wheezed for breath. I walked over to her as the whip retracted itself and she pushed herself to her feet.

As soon as I was within striking distance, she threw out a lightning fast punch. Unfortunately, my reflexes were faster. I caught her arm and squeezed it, causing her arm to break and making her scream in pain. I then twisted it around and threw her back into the bulkhead before I punched her in the solar plexus.

I could feel her ribs cracking under my fist, and the blood she coughed up as she wheezed for air confirmed my suspicion. With that, I turned and left the gym, all the while I was completely horrified at what I just did.

I went back into the recesses of my mind and informed my subconscious what just happened, to which he shook his head and said, "Damn, this is getting out of hand. I'm tearing this place apart with every neuron at my disposal and I can't find out what the hell is controlling the body. By all accounts, we should not be having this problem."

I looked around for a moment before I said, "Wait, back when Mint tried to read my thoughts, I tried to call out to her, but I felt a pulse that caused her pain. I don't recall being telepathic as part of the list of abilities we had. Can you back track that memory and find out where that pulse came from?"

He snapped up and said, "Damn right I can." He immediately pulled up the memory and began reviewing every little detail about it as I went back to watching, albeit reluctantly, to what havoc I caused next.

As I entered the sick bay, I began to look around again. Once again, trying to find something. Unfortunately, the next voice I heard sent a chill down my spine.

"Welcome to the medical bay Howard. Is there something I can help you with?"

Vanilla walked towards me with a small smile on her face as I curtly said, "Nothing concerning you." I was practically begging for nothing to happen as she said, "If there is something you need assistance finding, I am more than happy to assist…"

I glared at her and growled as I angrily said, "I said it is nothing concerning you, now back to your post, child!" Her expression visibly dipped as she began to stammer with her voice cracking, "I…I am sorry m…my lord. I…I only meant to…"

I scoffed as I yelled at her, "I don't care what you meant to do, stay out of my way!"

At this point, she began to cry and ran out of the sick bay as I continued to look around. Internally, this was tearing my apart. What the hell was going on? Why is my body acting like this? Why can't I stop it!?

Within a few minutes, I departed, not finding what I was looking for and made my way towards the Galactic viewing park. At this point, I was completely clueless as to what I was trying to find. These places had next to nothing in common with the exception of being on the same ship. So, as with the last two times, as soon as I entered the park, I began looking around again. What happened next completely mortified me.

"Hey Howard! I wanted to apologize for earlier…"

Milfeulle came running up to me. Terror flooded my veins as I watched my response happen, "Do not waste my time with petty issues."

She gasped lightly as she said, "Howard…."

I continued to look around as she choked back tears and said, "Is it the nightmares? I promise you, I'll stay with you every…" Then she put her hand on my right pauldron.

' _NOOOOOOOO!'_

My right arm swung out and knocked her in the chest, sending her flying and hitting the kafukafu tree with a resounding thud. She didn't move from the spot where she landed as I walked in her direction, still looking for whatever I was looking for. The sight made me sick to the pit of my stomach.

She was hunched over, wheezing for air and blood dripping from her forehead and from her mouth.

I hurt her.

I seriously HURT her.

By the stars, why am I being tormented like this?

For the rest of the time I was in the park, she didn't move an inch. But as I moved past her, I could hear her.

She was crying.

That sound broke my heart into a thousand pieces as I walked out of the park, completely unfazed by what I just did to the love of my life.

As I made my way through the ship, I went back into the recess of my mind, where my subconscious said, "Ahhh, good, I managed to back track where that pulse came from. It's a part of the mind that is being shielded by that power I found a few months back. I still need to find a way around it and then I'll have access into whatever is causing this. Any update topside?"

I filled him in on what I did to Vanilla and Milfeulle, which gave him pause before he said, "I am so sorry. I am doing everything I can think of and a few thinks I wouldn't think of to try and get you out. But, I think I found a loophole in the meantime."

My gaze immediately shot up as he continued, "I think when you screamed to Mint in here, that she heard you. If you cross paths with her again, try and tell her to subdue us. A shock of about 50,000 volts should do the trick. If my theory is right, that'll cause a hard reset in here and give you control back to your own body."

I nodded and went back up to watch as I entered the lounge and began to look around again. Within five minutes of entering, Forte and Tact came in as they both looked at me, Forte called out, "Oi! Howard! I've got a bone to pick with you!" Forte stormed over towards me with Tact in tow as he said, "Howard, we need to talk, we've gotten some very disturbing reports across the ship."

I continued to look as I started cursing whatever was causing this as Tact said, "We've gotten reports of Ranpha being sent to the medical bay with several broken ribs, a broken arm, and severe internal bleeding. Dr. Cera also said she found Vanilla in tears and when she asked about it, you came in and yelled at her to the point of causing her to break down. What do you have to say for yourself?"

As I walked past him, I didn't respond before Forte said, "Oi! You may be the Empress' personal bodyguard, that doesn't give you free reign to just go around…" And she poked my pauldron.

I don't know how much more of this my heart can take.

I swung my arm out with lightning speed, catching her across the chest and sending her flying through the dessert cart and into the wall as Tact said, "Whoa! Howard! Calm down! There's no need for violence." As Forte began to pull herself up, she pulled out her revolver and pointed it towards me as she said, "Howard! Stand down!"

I turned towards her and glared towards her past the barrel of the gun as she said, "Please don't make me do this." I then turned and began looking around again as she said, "Stop! Now!" Of course, I didn't listen as I proceeded to walk out of the tea lounge and as I walked through the passageway, Mint rounded the corner.

Now was my chance.

As she smiled and greeted me, I screamed with everything I had mentally.

' _Mint! Knock me out! 50,000 volts! HURRY!'_

As I walked past her, her expression didn't change as she made her way to the tea lounge, where she found Tact helping Forte up and ran over to help.

 _ ***Tact's POV***_

I shook my head as Mint and I helped Forte to her feet. As soon as she was on her feet though, she immediately doubled over in pain. "Ahh, I think he might have broken a couple of ribs, we need to get you to the medical bay Forte."

As Mint placed one of Forte's arms over her shoulder, she said, "I walked past Howard in the hallway and got another call for help from him."

We both looked at her as I asked, "What did he say?"

Her ears twitched once as she said, "He called to me, said to knock him out, 50,000 volts, and to hurry. I'm worried that something may be happening that's causing him to try and communicate using his thoughts, and judging from Forte's current state, it may be well founded."

We made our way to the medical bay, and when we entered, Ranpha was on one bed with Chitose next to her; being treated by Dr. Cera while on the other bed, being treated by Vanilla, was Milfeulle.

I was horrified as I looked at Milfie when Dr. Cera said, "Oh dear, Forte too? Did Howard do this to you? Come, lie down on this bed here, once Vanilla is done with Milfie." Taking her off of our hands, I ran over to Milfie, who was crying as Vanilla treated her injuries.

What in the name of space could send Howard off the deep end like this?

Mint walked over to a comm panel on the wall and opened a channel with Creta in the hanger. I walked over to listen in on the conversation.

"Creta, is there any power systems or security systems that generate 50,000 volts of electricity?"

"50,000 volts?! That's a lot of power Mint. Why do you need that much?"

"We need to subdue Howard, and we have reason to believe 50,000 volts will be able to do it."

"Hmmm, to tell you the truth, all of our minor systems don't use that much power. The closest thing we have is directly from the Chrono strong engines. It'll be tough to jury-rig something to the engines without causing a blowout."

"I might be able to help with that."

Everyone turned to look at Forte as she said, "I've got an old Taser from back before the weapons control laws that can generate almost 100,000 volts of electricity. They were outlawed under the principle of cruel and unusual punishment since most people that were subjected to it ended up having to spend months rehabilitating themselves on the use of their limbs."

I placed my hands on my hips as I said, "Well, given our current situation, we don't have much of a choice. After everyone is patched up, we need to set up a plan to corner him and hit him with that Taser before he has a chance to react."

Ranpha looked over at me and said, "Considering he has supernatural speed and strength, can tear through bulkheads, and can breathe in space, that's going to be a bit tough there, Tact."

I laughed a bit nervously as I said, "I know it seems like a tall order, but we've got to. He's counting on us to help him, and we're not going to let him down."

Mint's ears twitched as she said, "Well, as with any good trap, we'll need bait."

Milfeulle sat up and wiped her tears away as she said, "When he was in the park earlier, he was walking around, like he was looking for something."

Ranpha then added, "You know, when I found him in the gym, he was looking around in there too. Maybe one of us could say that we found what he was looking for."

I looked at the girls and said, "Okay, so, in that case, we'll need to have someone lead him to a good place to subdue him. Somewhere he won't escape from." I thought to try and think of the one place that he can't escape from.

A grin crawled onto my face as I said, "Alright girls, here's the plan…"

 _ ***Main POV***_

As I walked around, looking around the firing range, I went back into the recesses of my mind, where my subconscious was shifting our power, trying to unlock the part of our mind that was holding the key to stopping the ongoing rampage.

I sighed as he tried altering the variance of the power with a different structure almost as fast as he set the last. Knowing I couldn't do much at this point, combined with the horror of knowing that I hurt the girls, this is going to take a lot of work after the fact to bring myself back to normal.

Returning back to my normal view, I watched as I walked out of the firing range and ran into Chitose.

"Ahhh, my lord, I was just looking for you, I believe I have located what you were looking for."

I raised an eyebrow as I said, "I find that extremely doubtful, if that is the case, what am I searching for?"

Chitose was caught off guard, but quickly replied, "You don't remember, you requested to have the lost technology we utilized earlier to decode the message located and to notify you once it had been found."

I stared at her for a moment; keeping my mental mouth shut before I said, "Very well, lead on."

As she led me through the ship, I noticed we were making our way towards a part of the ship I seldom come to. When we entered the room, I immediately knew where we were.

The brig.

As I crossed the threshold to the door, I immediately felt my power surge. When we were near the center of the room, Chitose reeled around, bringing a pistol to bear, but I caught it before she could point it at me. Crushing the pistol in my grip, I could see the horror in her eyes before I felt my aura shift and the door slammed shut behind me.

Throwing her into the wall to the right, I turned and blocked a kick that Ranpha had thrown. The force behind the kick caused me to slide about 5 feet back, but before I could charge, I heard my subconscious call out.

"I got in! Tell Mint to invoke General Order 12!"

As I charged forward and threw a punch that Ranpha blocked, I was immediately sent into a world of pain as electricity began coursing through my body, leaving me partially paralyzed. Despite the amount of power being subjected to my body, I slowly turned to see Forte jabbing my neck with a Taser.

Within a couple of seconds, my power flared and sent a feedback pulse that knocked everyone back, including Forte, causing her to drop the Taser. I dropped to my knees for a moment before my body recovered, locking my gaze with the Taser. I pulled my claws back and sent out an energy whip towards the Taser.

Milfeulle dove and scooped up the Taser in a roll as my whip struck the deckplate in a clean miss. I stood up and turned towards her as Mint ran in front of me.

Now was my chance.

' _Mint! Invoke General Order 12! NOW!'_

I could only hope that she heard me.

As she stood in front of me, I raised my arm to swat her away when she said, "Execute General Order 12!"

I froze in place before I stood with my hands behind my back at attention. I let out a mental sigh of relief as Milfeulle ran up to me and said, "I'm really sorry, my beloved Demon." She then jabbed me in the neck with the Taser, which slowly forced me to my knees before it finally knocked me out.

I went back into the recesses of my mind to find the area where my power was had been expanded and led into a large room with columns of practically endless neurons all flowing and emitting an almost blinding light as my subconscious said, "Glad you got my message. Took me forever to figure out how to get into this damn place. There is so much knowledge locked down here, it's literally going to take me a while to actually sort through everything and get it integrated back into our memories."

I walked down to him and said, "What about those general orders?"

He snapped his fingers and said, "Yeah, so, I managed to figure out what those were. So, get this, there are over nine thousand five hundred orders all buried in here. The way they were implanted was to completely bypass the motor functions and the decision making functions of the brain to run directly into the cerebral cortex in order to prevent any conflicts of interest."

I raised an eyebrow as I said, "So, are they going to pose a threat in the future, or are we safe?"

He snapped his fingers again, sending a massive surge through the surrounding neurons as he said, "They won't be a problem anymore. So, we don't have to worry about Nefuria doing that again. Though, I'm still not sure where these all came from, let alone how she even knew about them, assuming she didn't just say the right things by complete coincidence."

I walked over to one of the columns as I said, "Did you manage to find out what General order 575 was?"

He looked over at me and said, "Yes. The order was to infiltrate a hostile vessel, identify essential personnel on board, collect any vital Intel, and proceed to neutralize them one by one, thereby rendering the vessel defenseless."

As I sighed, he continued, "I'm inclined to believe she knew what she was doing." I looked at him as he finished, "The other general order she said, 27, that was a call to attention to receive further instruction."

I turned and began to pace. I could feel my blood begin to boil. She knew what she was doing. So, Mint, Ranpha, Vanilla, Forte, Milfeulle. All of them were victims to this conditioning that she induced. That settled it.

I was going to find her, and I was going to kill her.

Before I could say anything else, he walked over to me and said, "It's not your fault, bud. You had no way of knowing this could happen. But I can damn well assure you that it won't happen again. That said…"

He took a step back and said, "I'll work on integrating all of these new memories into your main memories. In the meantime, it's time for you to wake up and hunt her down."

I woke up in the medical bay, completely strapped down with several wires stuck to me, reading my vital signs and my brain waves.

Overpowering the straps didn't take much effort as I pulled them off and sat up. My hand immediately shot to my head. I had a pounding headache, probably from getting electrocuted earlier.

As I groaned, I heard a click followed by Forte saying, "Don't move an inch, Howard."

I dropped my hands as I said, "Believe me, after the horror that I witnessed, you'd be doing me a really big favor by pulling the trigger." I looked over my shoulder, looking at her with sorrow as I asked, "Are you alright?"

She hesitated for a moment before disarming her revolver and holstering it as she said, "Welcome back."

I flexed my eyebrows as I said, "To be honest, after watching that whole thing, I'm kinda sorry I'm back." I placed my head in my hands as I said, "I hurt you girls. You, Ranpha, Vanilla, Mint, even Milfeulle. What's worse is that I couldn't do a thing to stop it. I can't even begin to consider asking forgiveness for what I did."

Forte took a seat next to me as she put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Ever since that battle with Nefuria, we knew there was something off with you. When Mint told us that she heard you screaming mentally for help, that set us down the road to try and see what was wrong. Unfortunately, it was a lot more painful than we were hoping, but at the end of the day, we managed to help you before any real damage was done."

I couldn't help but scoff a bit as she said that. I looked at her and said, "Forte, while I do appreciate the thought, this….just….this…" Lifting my hands and looking around, I finished, "…I don't know what's worse. Trying to get you girls to forgive me for what I did, or forgiving myself for what I did. Especially to Milfeulle. By the stars, as soon as I saw my arm hit her, I wanted to die right there and then. I hurt her, I swore I would protect her from anything, but I couldn't protect her from myself."

I shook my head as Forte said, "Clearly something was controlling your actions. I know you wouldn't hurt anyone like you did of your own accord. As far as I'm concerned, this wasn't your fault, and I'll be here to help you solve the mystery of what actually happened."

I scoffed again as I said, "Thankfully, my subconscious managed to figure out what happened. That was how Mint knew how to stop me." I then went on to explain what my subconscious found, as well as everything that it meant, causing her to whistle in surprise before she said, "But where did it all come from?"

I shrugged my shoulders and replied, "I haven't the slightest clue. He's working on getting everything sorted and put into my memories now, but for the moment, you know as much as I do."

As soon as I finished my sentence, Dr. Cera came in and said, "Ahh, you're awake. Good, how are you feeling?"

I scoffed and said, "Well, between guilty for watching all the girls get hurt by my own hand, sore from whatever hammer was used to pound my head in, and pissed that I was turned into somebody's personal meat puppet. I'd have to say…fairly good. How are you?"

This caused both Dr. Cera and Forte to laugh before she gave me a complete examination. I asked her not to notify anyone I was awake until after I returned to my room. I really needed to be alone after what transpired.

Whether it was guilt, shame, anger, or sorrow that made me feel like that, odds are, it was the combination of all of them.

It took about an hour, but I was given a clean bill of health, where I got dressed, and returned to my room quickly and quietly.

I removed my armor and proceeded to lie down on my bed, placing an arm over my face as I sighed. Hopefully, I won't be needed for a little while because after the day I had, I could really use a stiff drink right now.

But, I wasn't left alone to my thoughts for long. After an hour, my door opened.

I immediately caught the one scent I was dreading on picking up since it happened.

I sat up and I was looking at Milfeulle, who was standing in my doorway nervously, as we stared at each other for a minute.

I broke my gaze first as I looked down and said, "I have no right to ask for your forgiveness for what happened. I'm still sick at the thought that I hurt you, after I swore I would…"

But I was cut off as she embraced me in a hug and said, "Stop right there, my beloved Demon. Forte told me everything. I knew that couldn't be you that was doing all of that. Seeing as Nefuria was the one who did it, I'm mad at her for taking you away from me."

As she pulled out of the hug and lifted my chin to look into her eyes, she continued, "I promised you I would stay by your side no matter what. I meant every word of that. I'm not going to let some random sidekick take you away from me, not without a fight."

I couldn't help but chuckle a bit before I said, "I think Ranpha's starting to rub off on you."

She smiled as she moved a strand of hair out of my face and said, "Well, if that means I can help keep the demon I love safe, then I'll take it in stride."

I smiled as she hugged me, which I returned in kind. She then said, "It's really late, and we both had a really long day, do you….do you mind if I spend the night with you again tonight?"

I pulled out from the hug as I said, "Sure. With some luck, having you close by will keep the nightmares away and help sooth both of our nerves after the hell I lived today."

She stood up and went back to her room to go grab a few essentials for the night, leaving me alone with my thoughts as I couldn't begin to believe how lucky I was to have a girl like her. Even though she's forgiven me, I still have to forgive myself, and I've got to apologize to Ranpha, Mint, and Vanilla as well.

Within a few minutes, Milfeulle returned and we both got ready for bed, and let the embrace of sleep envelope us as we held each other in our arms.

What I didn't know, however, was this wasn't the end of my hell.

It was only the beginning.

 _ **A/N: Disclaimer, I don't own the Galaxy Angel series or the character Inu-no-Taisho that my OC was styled after.**_

 _ **Well! That was an explosive and exciting chapter that helped to deviate the story away from the series we're all familiar with.**_

 _ **Howard: You're still a bast…**_

 _ **Oh, if you think that's bad now, wait until you see the real fun I have in store for you in the next few chapters. ^_^**_

 _ **Howard: You are seriously demented, you know that?**_

 _ **Yup! So, we most certainly hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review and we'll see you in the next chapter!**_


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